The Academy Awards

[Joe Guy]

I usually don't pay much attention to this award show but I had it on tonight when the host - someone I don't know or care to know about- said, "The only person who could get inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Boothe".

And the show went downhill from there.

It's bad enough that people actually care what movie stars are wearing & who wins an award but bad is bad.

As in really bad & tasteless jokes.

And I know a lot about bad & tasteless jokes...

[Guinevere]

Even worse, what he said earlier, introducing Django Unchained. "This is the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who's been subjected to unthinkable violence. Or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie."

[Guinevere]

An awful show (and I enjoy the spectacle and the dresses and guessing the winners). The musical numbers - Les Mis cast singing live and Adele were the highlight (Streisand was not). Jennifer Lewis, best actress at 22 looked overwhelmed. Daniel Day Lewis accepting the best actor award was funny, gracious, and elegant. And Ben was utterly charming after Argo won best picture.

And there you have the highlights of a 3.5 hour show in 30 seconds.

[MajGenl.Meade]

What does one expect from a host who is a foul-mouthed non-event with a talent quotient slightly south of zero?

[Lord Jim]

I'm with Guin on this one...

Lady Kelly likes to watch this annual flummery, so I watched bits and pieces of it, and Seth MacFarlane ain't no Johnny Carson...

Or even Billy Crystal...

I don't know who wrote those unbelievably tasteless, unfunny lines for Mr. Macfarlane, but if that's what passes for "hip" nowadays , you can have it....

[Guinevere]

Almost worse (because I expect more from them), this morning NPR (or it could have been the BBC) repeated the Rhianna/Chris Brown "joke." Good lord.

I'm happy to say I havd no idea who McFarlane was before the show, and I wish I had remained uninformed. At least I won't be watching anything he is connected with ever again. He even managed to bring the adorable and talented Kristen Chenowith down into the mud with him, in their awful duet at the end.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Didn't watch this year just like I haven't for my previous 54 year on this earth.
Don't care who won what.
Probably won't see any of the winning movies until they come to cable TV and even then I doubt it.
Bunch of self back slapping and whining and dressing up for who knows who.
Went to an AA doubleshot meeting instead, then went to sleep.
DVR'd The Walking Dead.

[Lord Jim]

I'm surprised the guy didn't tell some knee slappingly hilarious Pistorius shooting his girl friend in the bathroom joke...

[Guinevere]

I think he kept his laser focus firmly on Hollywood.

[oldr_n_wsr]

What was the last thing that went through her mind??

Killer looks.

someone had to

[RayThom]

A more fitting tribute to this "back slap," self-congratulatory, dog-and-pony show you couldn't find. Yet the Oscar's are a necessary carrot-on-a-stick for all those in the business of show. Without it cinematic mediocrity would surely prevail.

I could see that many in the audience who got Seth's brand of humor enjoyed the poke. Here's my prediction -- McFarlane will be back next year.


Other than that Mrs. Lincoln... how did you enjoy the performance?

[Big RR]

I thought the Rihanna joke was a bit of a cheap shot, but I didn't mind the Lincoln omne--especially when he followed it up (after the reaction) with "What, 150 years and it's still too recent? hang on, I have some Napoleon jokes that will set your teeth on edge". I didn't really think he was all that great, but I far prefer him to the smarmy Billy Crystal singing an off key song about the nominations with the stupidest jokes I ever heard in it.

[Rick]

Well the Academy hired him didn't they?

Maybe they don't know as much as they think they do...Hmmm

[Big RR]

I think the Academy has a problem; unlike the Tonys and Grammys, which can feature a variety of live performances, movies just don't foster that (and a showing of out of context movie clips isn't all that good). So they try insisid productions numbers and ctting edge hosts to attract viewers and, not surprisingly, that crashes and burns. Tehy want to create a show to attract viewers,, but a movie awards show is not something that has a broad based appeal.

Personally, I think they should just hand out the awards (like the NY Critics and other shows) and let those who want to watch, watch the show; the others can look elsewhere.

[Econoline]

I haven't watched for a few years now, but the out-of-context movie clips were always my favorite part (the production numbers and the emcee's stupid jokes, not so much)... not to mention the strange and unexpected moments like Sacheen Littlefeather's appearance on behalf of Marlon Brando.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I got an Emmy (well me and 4 other engineers) for designing the first HDTV graphics generator. Of course that award was not shown on TV, it happened a few days earlier. It was Chyrons second emmy while I was employed there. The first was a "general" emmy, the second was for the engineering team.