| Well, let's hear it for the year of the underwhelming performances. Last night was without doubt the single least stimulating Oscar show in my memory. Personally I loved David Letterman and his Cabin Boy test footage or Whoopi and her costume changes compared to Steve Martin and his nonsequitor jokes about Supreme Court decisions and Hollywood party politics. While his failure to make Russell Crowe crack a smile was amusing, (side note: what a wet blanket that guy is!) the night's funniest moment came from Mr. Congenialty Tom Hanks playing along with Martin's joke that he was involved in the Russell Crowe kidnapping plot. Or maybe I should just admit that we all know the best moment wasn't in the show at all but in those new Pepsi commercials with Britney Spears and Bob Dole! In any case, Steve Martin did do the impossible. For the first time since I can recall watching the Oscars, the show came in on time- and maybe even with 10 minutes to spare, according to my clock, anyhow. This is no small feat as Martin himself noted in the multiple jokes the host is always apt to make about being younger at the beginning of the show, et al. So, good for him. While I doubt his TV giveaway for the shortest acceptance speech had anything to do with this, many people I'm sure appreciated the extra hours of sleep. For me, I was actually a little sad by the lack of Scorcese video retrospectives on the history of women slapping men in movies as I have come to expect year after year and which in turn make the show run long into the night. And, really, I think the general lack of character in the show (no retrospectives, no dance numbers, no really elaborate production pieces) made the whole thing about as dull as most of the nominees. Again, with some minor exceptions (Julia's endearing acceptance speech "I love it up here!", Bob Dylan performing, Soderbergh and Marcia Harden's wins for the Hollywood Right) the whole thing was very dull. Myself, I truly passed through the gauntlet, watching preshow coverage from noon, then Joan Rivers, and Barbara Walters, and the countdown to the show and the show and the post show coverage! So, I think I got a good feel for the evening on the whole. It amazes me that E!, being an entertainment channel, is generally out of the loop as far as their pundits are concerned. Blah blah, Billy Elliot was the best picture of the year, blah blah clearly the Academy wouldn't vote for Soderbergh for Traffic because the movie is too complex, the mindless E. Brockovich has better chances- I swear that was an actual argument made, granted I didn't think he'd win, but I don't consider the Academy inept or mindless. As for the winners, well what's to be said? Just a few notable surprises, as I mentioned. Marcia Gay Harden was my favorite. Watching a true actor be acknowledged by her peers sent a feeling of joy through me as she got her big hug from Ed Harris and made her way astonished to the podium. PS, if you haven't seen Pollock- GO SEE IT! It's amazing! Then, of course, comes Steven Soderbergh. Who knew?! Maybe the Academy really does know what's what. Although with Russell Crowe's win for Best Actor and Traffic's general lack of a chance for Best Picture it's hard to say. A personal triumph and one for the record books- leave it to Soderbergh to defy the odds, he did afterall singlehandedly resurrect independent film in 1990, so yay Steven! Other than that, the winners went as we all expected them to, so nothing really to note. How about the woman who won for her short film, though- her first film!! "Guess that's beginner's luck," she said, totally without care. What is with you?!?!?! Bjork's performance made me scratch my head for sure, not for reasons the least of which was that crazy swan! And does she really have the intellect of a 5 year old or does she just play one on TV? Very strange and possibly more unsettling than her stellar, but ignored, Dancer in the Dark performance. The Crouching Tiger song performance complete with Cirque du Soleilasia was equally weird. I guess to conclude I'd like to ask the Academy for our long Oscar shows back with larger more head-scratching set pieces. And, sorry Steve Martin, I love you and wish you would go back to making funny movies like The Jerk, but you should stay away from future Oscar ceremonies- this viewer does not take kindly to your expediency. (By the way, what did you mean with that Supreme Court decision joke about Bjork? You totally lost me. Alright, in the words of the big loser, Tom Hanks, "Well, that's all I have to say about that." |
| Oscar Wrap-Up |
| And the Winners Are.... Best Picture: Gladiator Best Director: Steven Soderbergh Lead Actor: Russell Crowe Lead Actress: Julia Roberts Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro Supporting Actress: Marcia Gay Harden Original Screenplay: Almost Famous Adapted Screenplay: Traffic Art Direction: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Editing: Traffic Live Action Short: Quiero Ser Animated Short: Father and Daughter Costume: Gladiator Sound FX Editing: U571 Sound: Gladiator Cinematography: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Makeup- The Grinch Documentary Short: Big Mama Feature Documentary: Kindertransport Visual Effects: Gladiator Musical Score: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Foreign Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Best Song: Things Have Changed by Bob Dylan |