Oscar Afterthoughts

Once again, I was off work for my religious holiday... Oscar Night
so that I might enjoy my love of movies and those that make them.

This year, I did not get a chance to see any of the nominees for best picture except for Ray; and so the excitement and interest was a bit lower than usual. Still, I was looking forward to Chris Rock'sturn as emcee and rooting for The Incredibles to win best picture in the animated category. I was a bit let down with Rock's performance (he seemed excited to be there but feigned indifference and disdain to be seem above it all) but more than pleased with The Incredibles' wins. I was also pleased to see Edna Mode make a logical appearance as a presenter for best costume design.

I'm still trying to figure out why Arthur Miller was left out of the remembrance section of the show; he wrote the screenplays for The Misfits and The Crucible. I don't remember seeing Sandra Dee either.

Overall, the show wasn't bad or good... just there. If I didn't love movies so much, I might have started flipping channels during commercials to see what else was on. Of course, if I had done that I would have missed the irritating GM commercials that inferred that you were a bad parent if you didn't have a car with OnStar on board. Apparently, having a cell phone isn't enough to prove your love for you children or concern for their safety... and people that can't afford either should be ashamed for endangering their kids by wantonly taking them places in the car. It reminds me of the similarly irritating Michelin Tires commercials that follow the same pattern. It is one thing to show how your product might enhance your safety but another to infer negligence if you don't buy them.

The one Chris Rock moment that made me happy was when he seemed honestly pissed that they cut off the Documentary Short Subject winners' acceptance speech. His speculation that next year they might have a drive-thru lane in the parking lot for some categories was dead on.

I'm so tired of everyone whining about the length of the show. Maybe they should have the show on one of the cable channels and let the damn thing run as long as it takes. Have all the clips they want, remembrances, crappy dance numbers and acceptance speeches of infinite lengths. Then they could run a 1 hour highlight version for the networks.

My favorite presenter (other than Edna) was Jeromy Irons. His deadpan response of, It's nice to finally be recognized., to Rock's intro referring to him as a comedy great was cool. He also reacted to a gunshot-like noise during his presentation with equal aplomb, I hope they missed. before moving along.

My least favorite presenter was Sean Penn. Did he honestly feel that Jude Law needed to be defended against Rock's lame dissing of the actor at the start of the show. Good gods, Sean, pull that stick out of your ass.

Incredibly lame Oscar factoid... Did you know that Hilary Swank is the first woman to win and Oscar for a boxing movie? That was the stunningly stupid info given to us as Swank mounted the stage to accept her Oscar.

For that matter, isn't Jamie Foxx is the first actor to win an Oscar for playing a blind singer?

One last observation. Were they too cheap to use adjustable microphones? Several winners seemed to be hunched over when making their acceptance speeches.

Going to bed now.