Thoughts On The Oscars

So the Oscars were last night! So here are my thoughts.

About the Hosts...
Am I the only one who thought that James Franco and Anne Hathaway, though very entertaining in their own right, were not that great as hosts? I know Franco has past experience on Saturday Night Live so he is fit to do live television. But he looked stoned the entire time, which led to great entertainment at his expense. Anne Hathaway was ever cheery and overly enthusiastic, but it didn't seem like any of their bits landed (except for that Charlie Sheen dig, classic cross-dressing Franco).

Montages Galore
I have a lot of questions about the montages. I think that some of them were good. The opening montage was respectable, but it definitely will not go down as one of the best in Oscar history. The Auto-Tune was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time ("He Doesn't Even Own A Shirt"). But the biggest one was the Best Picture montage. I know that The King's Speech is a great film (and eventual Oscar Winner), but seriously Academy? You actually scored the entirety of that montage to Colin Firth's speech. There was little doubt beforehand that The King's Speech would win, but that was the cherry on top.

Best Presenter Goes To...
I think that Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. had some good banter, and Downey always is a great presenter (just think back to the Golden Globes). But I have to give this award to Kirk Douglas. His presentation was awkward at first, endearing next, and then just straight up comical. Some great tidbits include: James Franco (you look a lot better out of that cave), Anne Hathaway (Where were actresses like you when I was in films?), Australians (Why do Australians think I'm funny?), and Colin Firth (Look Colin Firth isn't laughing. Because he's British). You know, he was one of the best parts of the Oscars, although he did leave the envelope backstage.

Speaking About Old People
Forget Betty White. We have new old people to love. The best parts of this entire ceremony were the old people. First was James Franco's grandmother, who seemed to jump out of her chair for Marky Mark (no Nana, he's a serious actor now. It's Mark Wahlberg). Then of course you had the hilarious (intentionally?) Kirk Douglas. Then there was David Seidler, who was a self-professed late bloomer. And of course you had Randy Newman, who rocked the singing, and then rocked his speech. Next year, we should just have Kirk Douglas host the Oscars. It would be the longest affair ever, but I just can't get enough Kirk Douglas right now.

Speaking About Mothers
The best Oscars acceptance speech has to go to Luke Matheny, for God Of Love. He had a good reference to his mom, he was excited, and he seemed genuinely happy to be there. I joked that he must have been on ecstasy after winning, but it was a really good acceptance speech. The next has to go to Tom Hooper, who had another reference to his mother, the inspiration of the The King's Speech.

So About That Speech...
The most buzz-worthy moment has to be the f-bomb that Melissa Leo dropped. First off, as the expected winner, I didn't expect so much spontaneity. I expected something rehearsed, but obviously she decided to step it up a notch. To be honest, I didn't know she dropped the f-bomb until Christian Bale enlightened us (by the way, Christian Bale had a very good acceptance speech also). As expected as it was, I still can't believe the spectacle she created after winning. I honestly hope she does not win again.

Surprise!!
There were only two minor surprises this year. One was that Inception beat out True Grit for Best Cinematography, which is less surprising because Inception won the American Cinematographer's Award or whatnot. And the other was Tom Hooper beating out David Fincher for Best Director. Tom Hooper did win the Director's Guild Award, but Fincher had been riding on so much momentum. Fincher was essentially a lock going into the night, so it was surprising to see Hooper come out on top.

The Winners
Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King's Speech

For all of the other winners, just go to the Oscars website.