Oscar 2011's highs and lows
This year’s Oscars started on a high note. In an “Inception” inspired sequence, hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco were seamlessly inserted in various nominated movies with the use of special effects. That was an interesting teaser but the show experienced a few highs and mostly lows after that.
To start off, the performance of James and Anne paled in comparison to the previous brilliant jobs done by Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Hugh Jackman. The writers just didn’t give them enough things to do or say. They were also not good at adlibbing. I admire the two performers on the big screen but they should stay away from non-acting jobs.
To be fair, Anne can sing and she proved that when Jackman presided the 2009 awards night. This year, the writers made her sing “On my own” from “Les Miz” but with lyrics that took a jibe at Jackman for not joining her on the show. Thus, the reference to being “on my own.” Anne excelled again as a singer but the joke fell flat.
The show was really desperate for laughs because James came out in drag, as Marilyn Monroe, in one segment. That got tepid response but he got some enthusiastic feedback when he remarked, “I just got a text from Charlie Sheen.” James appeared glum and distracted most of the time and hardly made an impact on the show. Anne was more impressive than he was.
What exacerbated my boredom were the kilometric acceptance speeches of some winners who thanked everyone from their producer to their grandchildren. This, despite the fact that there was a thank-you camera offstage where they could thank as many people they wanted. Of course, they preferred to express their gratitude in front of a bigger audience on TV than the smaller number on the Academy’s website where the “thank you” videos would be posted.
Their speeches were uninteresting because they lacked the pizzazz of previous winners like Sally Field who exclaimed when she won in 1985: “I haven’t had an orthodox career and I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me.” Or Robin Williams who quipped in 1998: “I want to thank my father up there, the man who, when I said I wanted to be an actor, said, ‘Wonderful, just have a back-up profession like welding.” How about Dustin Hoffman who said in 1980: “I’d like to thank my parents for not practicing birth control.”
To my mind, the best acceptance speech this year was delivered by 73-year-old David Seidler, who won the Best Original Screenplay award for “The King’s Speech”: “My father always said to me I would be a late bloomer...I believe I'm the oldest person to win this particular award. I hope that record is broken quickly and often.”
The 94-year-old Kirk Douglas also added to the boredom. He was the presenter of the Best Supporting Actress statuette but he decided to prolong his appearance on screen by flirting with Anne onstage and going on and on about topics that didn’t interest me. When it was time to announce the winner, he continued to say irrelevant things. Even when Melissa Leo went on stage to get her Oscar, he escorted her to the microphone, hoping to get some more airtime. Mercifully, he was led away by one of the valets. Douglas may be a Hollywood icon but he didn’t have the right to impose himself on the audience.
If Super Bowl XXXVIII had a wardrobe malfunction courtesy of Janet Jackson, the Oscars had a verbal malfunction when Leo unconsciously blurted out the “F” word when she remarked, “When I watched Kate (Winslet) two years ago, it looked so f...ing easy.” I understand that expletive did not reach the US audience because many TV broadcasts, especially on free-to-air TV, had a device that delays transmission by a few seconds. I’m wondering, though, why the “F” word was not bleeped locally when the morning broadcast was delayed by about 30 minutes.
Billy Crystal’s appearance at the Oscars was a high point in the festivities. I kept hoping he would take over the hosting chores. Unfortunately he was only there to pay homage to perennial Oscar host Bob Hope. Again, through the use of special effects, they were able to simulate Hope’s presence onstage as he cracked his one-liners. He even introduced the next presenters, possibly through an impressionist copying Hope’s voice.
US president Barack Obama also guested on the show although it was a very brief appearance via a video clip where he chose “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” as the best song from the movies.
To wrap things up, the PS 22 Chorus, composed of fifth grade students from Staten Island. sang “Over the Rainbow” from “Wizard of Oz.” As I heard the lyrics “And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true,” I too hope that everyone’s dreams of a better Oscar next year do come true. The Academy can start by making Billy Crystal an offer that he cannot refuse so he can host the next Oscars.
Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.
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