The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards night: Mildly entertaining

The 18th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards event on Jan. 30 could not match the Oscars or the Golden Globes. There was no Billy Crystal or Ricky Gervais to deliver the opening monologue and make witty side comments when an award was given. Presenters were introduced by a lady announcer offstage instead of a program host. There were no song and dance routines. Instead, there were film clips of the nominated actors and their movies and TV shows plus a tribute to those who passed away. The Guild has always mounted a simple awards night.

For star struck fans, that's probably enough. Watching George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and other celebs on screen is entertaining by itself. For me, it's the guessing game before the winners are announced that keeps me glued to the boob tube. More importantly, the SAG awards are strong indicators of who will win the coveted acting Oscars.

Looking at the list of acting nominations, it's clear that SAG has a big say in the Academy's acting trophies. In the Best Actor category, the following were nominated in both the SAG and the Academy Awards: George Clooney ("The Descendants"), Jean Dujardin ("The Artist"), Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Demian Bichir ("A Better Life"). Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar") was the fifth SAG nominee but was ignored by the Academy which picked Gary Oldman ("Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"). SAG gave the award to Dujardin who also won for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. He seems to be the early favorite in this category for the Oscars.

For Best Actress or Best Female Actor (the SAG term), four of the five nominees are the same for SAG and the Academy: Meryl Streep ("Iron Lady"), Viola Davis ("The Help"), Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn") and Glenn Close ("Albert Nobbs"). The SAG's fifth nominee was Tilda Swinton ("We Need to Talk About Kevin") while the Academy gave the fifth slot to Rooney Mara ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.") The SAG gave the award to Davis while the Golden Globe chose Streep.

Four of the five SAG nominees for Best Supporting Actor made it to the Oscar list. Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") won for Best Supporting Actor (He also triumphed at the Golden Globes.). All five SAG nominees for Best Supporting Actress got the nod from the Academy. Octavia Spencer ("The Help") won for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She also won at the Golden Globes.

The SAG award for Outstanding Cast in a motion picture went to "The Help," but this is not a good indicator of who will win Best Picture at the Oscars since acting is only one of the critical elements in a motion picture. Four of the five SAG finalists in this category were in the Academy's list of nine nominees: "The Descendants," "Midnight in Paris ," "The Artist," and "The Help." Its fifth choice "Bridesmaids" did not make it to the Oscars.

"The Help" went home with three of the five awards in motion pictures, an impressive record, indeed. This augurs well for the film in the forthcoming Academy Awards.

As far as the awards show on Velvet (Channel 53 on Sky Cable) is concerned, it was mildly entertaining. As expected, many winners, most especially Steve Buscemi. used their time to thank a long list of people including their wife and kids. Viewers don't really care about these people. They can thank them after the show. The SAG should copy what the Academy does. It has a thank you camera where winners can express their gratitude to anyone they please with no time limit. The Academy then airs these TY speeches on their website.

Thank goodness for Plummer who delivered the best acceptance speech: "I just can't tell you what fun I've had being a member of the world's second oldest profession. Actors are a gregarious and wacky (lot). And when they honor you, it's like being lit by the Holy Grail.

While several winners paid lip service to their writers (unfortunately, some did not mention their names), Alec Baldwin made special mention of his co-star and series writer Tina Fey.Veteran actress Betty White was surprised when her name was called and remarked: "I think they made a terrible mistake." She then shared the award with her co-stars then quipped, "I'm not gonna let them keep this."

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Mary Tyler Moore who was introduced by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star in "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Van Dyke praised her versatility. He said she was Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland and Ginger Rogers rolled into one.

Moore recalled her initial experience with SAG which said she couldn't use her name because there was already an actress with that name. So she used Mary Tyler Moore instead since Tyler was her middle name. There was an awkward moment after she told the story. Did she forget what she was going to say? She had a blank look on her face. It had only been a minute and a half. Surely, a Lifetime Achievement Awardee deserves a longer acceptance speech. So Van Dyke went to her and planted a kiss on her cheek and her segment was over too soon.

I am looking forward to the Oscar Awards which will be aired live on Monday, Feb. 27, starting at 6 a.m. on Velvet. How will the SAG nominees fare? I am also excited that Billy Crystal is hosting the awards night once again.