Hugh Mistake: Oscars and All That Schmaltz
After presenting his third of four Oscars, Will Smith looked into the camera and the audience and said something to the effect of "yes, I'm still here." That essentially sums up this year's Oscar telecast, a bloated and overdone spectacle that left us bewildered, unenthusiastic and exhausted to the point where only "Randy The Ram" could have saved the show by laying the smackdown on the all-schmaltz affair. Sadly, he never entered the ring.
The 81st Academy Awards played off as a Tony Awards retread featuring painful musical numbers (love Hugh Jackman but that G-rated opening medley was a bit much and that whole "musicals are back" number seemed dated and would've played off better the year Chicago won), matched with endless and unnecessary montages (Was it really a banner year for animated flicks? Space Chimps got more mileage than Doubt -- need I say more?), and forgettable (not counting Steve Martin and Tina Fey, who stole the show) and too few presenters.
The show wasn't a complete train wreck although, admittedly, it came pretty close. Aside from the overall Broadway feel of the whole thing (Did anyone else expect to see Carol Channing wearing a "Jai Ho" T-shirt?), it was classy and refreshing to see past Oscar winners on stage together praising each individual nominee even though it took too long to get to the actual winner. On a related note, it would've been nice if Cuba Gooding, Jr. praised nominee Robert Downey, Jr. instead of trying to upstage him and recreate his Jerry Maguire speech from over a decade ago.
Other highlights were the speeches: Heath Ledger's win for Best Supporting Actor in which his family accepted on his behalf was one of those big Oscar moments we will be seeing for decades to come; Philippe Petit's acceptance was effortlessly glorious; Slumdog Millionaire's humble speeches made you really happy it had won so many awards, and Kate Winslet finally bringing home a gold guy was joyous -- notably her terrific "shampoo" line and her "whistle" shout out to her dad.
Still, there's no question this year's Oscars were a dud. It's time to lighten up and trim the fat. The Indie Spirit Awards are always entertaining because they're carefree, and above all else, just two hours long. It's time for the Oscars to cut the montages, the original score sets and the music performances. How fast did John Legend leave the stage after performing in the medley? Who can blame him?
Three hours is enough. We don't need a fourth. As is typically the case, the host ends up getting lost as the show goes on. That's why I suggest the Academy go back to its 1980s theme of having a couple of hosts. Wouldn't the telecast seem fresh if say Ricky Gervais opened the show, Will Ferrell did the middle, and Conan O'Brien finished it off? I think so. The awards need to be a celebration of film, but more importantly, a form of entertainment that keeps us entertained -- and as history has shown -- laughing. Billy Crystal did the best job of that. Steve Martin was extremely underrated as well.
Bottom line is it's bad enough the Oscars don't award mainstream movies like The Dark Knight, why should we have to sit through a telecast of meaningless vignettes and old-fashioned singing and dancing? I mean really... last night's telecast beat us over the head senseless.
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I disagree. I thought this was the most entertaining Oscar ceremony I've seen in awhile. I thought Jackman's "musical!" comment was kind of weird as I'm not such a fan of the musical, but in the same vein I figured here's a guy who really likes and appreciates musicals and an Indian-style movie with a heavy emphasis on music and a musical style wins Best Picture. Perhaps Jackman was more right than I reflexively wanted to believe.
When re-watching the dearly departed segment I realized that the wonderful Edie Adams (who died in March) was not noted. I guess she is little remembered today, and that is a shame. She was a great comedic actress and was in many memorable films. With a four hour telecast I presume there is time to acknowledge all the notable passings.
We're going to have to agree to disagree here, Mr. Chattman. I thought this year's Oscar show was pretty good. I do however take issue with that show tune medley. The songs included in the medley did not work well together, and the production style did not match most of the songs. It was painful to watch/listen to. And this is coming from a lover of all forms of music theater.
It was a really good show. I don't know how many of these shows you've seen in your life but it hasn't been this entertaining since Billy Crystal hosted.
Hugh Jackman succeeded! The show was neither bloated nor overdone. It was tasteful and light and far from fat. And since this is an award show for movies, the montages and tributes and original scores and musical numbers make it a "show." This is what a show about entertainment is all about.
Just because your favorite "The Dark Knight" didn't get what you thought it should doesn't make this a bad show.
Dear, Dear, Jon,
Producing movies and TV projects requires a lot of creativity; trashing movies and TV projects is very easy. Before you wrote your Academy Award piece, you must have failed to turn on your snark filter. You perhaps need to buy some extra verbal credits because your negativity lessened your Verbal Footprint.
Look what you've done; I'm being negative about your negativity. I should have remembered Sam Goldwyn's admonition: "Don't pay any attention to critics--don't even ignore them."
N. Wylie Jones - Richmond, Virginia
I will tell you what I liked. Then you can tell me what you didn't like. Okay? I liked Hugh Jackman. I liked the way he joked with the celebs in the audience. I liked, no LOVED, the set. I liked the previous best actors and actresses speaking to the nominees. I liked the way the celebs were seated so close to the stage. I liked almost all of the acceptance speeches. Your turn.
Seems we've got a conservative talking point strategy: Say it, even though you don't have any evidence to back it up, and people will believe it.
Hint: The ratings for the Oscars were up this year.
Just because ratings were up does not necessarily mean that something is great.
Given the length of the show, people would have tuned out if it were that bad. They didn't. Now, I agree that popular doesn't necessarily equal good, but given the convenience of leaving, the fact that people stuck around means they liked the show.
Thus, the claim that "there's no question this year's Oscars were a dud" is to deny reality, akin to the Republicans who keep trying to say we're a "center-right nation" and that the citizenry "doesn't like the spending bill."
I get it: Some people didn't like the show. But there's a difference between saying, "I thought it was bad," and saying, "It was bad."
Gee, I have a Ph.D. in British Renaissance literature, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Oscars.
Word....Gotta agree with Jon. Hugh was easy on the eyes, anyway.... He is so fine looking, that Aussie!
One of the biggest movie stars of all time, Paul Newman, was not even showcased. If you blinked, you'd miss it. Should have even brought in Joanne Woodward and given a special oscar to him.
Very disappointed.
They usually don't single out single actors who have passed away.
And they already have given Newman TWO honorary oscars in addition to the one he won outright.
The sad thing about the 21st Century is that the movie is dead. Acting and story line has been replaced by technical mumbo jumbo and special effects extravaganza. The "Dark Night" is a typical example.
The older movies were so much better. "12 Angry Men" is still far more compelling and watchable than most of the modern rubbish. In case you think this is from a sad old man, my son, who is 19, agrees with me!
It really is time to go back to rewarding great acting, meaningful social commentary and a story line. In that respect "Slumdog Millionaire" was a great first step. I watched it and think it is a very good but not truly great movie. It quite rightly swept the night, however, because it has a message and because of the way it was put together.
Lets hope this heralds an era when the movie is king again and the special effects trickery to tickle money out of undiscerning fools' pockets is no more.
"Acting and story line has been replaced by technical mumbo jumbo and special effects extravaganza. The "Dark Night" is a typical example."
Ummm... buzz around the Dark Knight even before it was released centered on Heath Ledger's ACTING in the role of the Joker. Not sure how that makes the Dark Knight a "typical example" of Hollywood abandoning acting for "technical mumbo jumbo and special effects." Ledger's role overshadowed even the special effects.
...and you kids get off my lawn!!
Thanks Senator McCain, now you can go back to complaining about the early bird buffet special.
Well, unlike most posters, I have to agree with Jon on this one. We missed the beginning (putting a child to bed) and tuned in just in time for the tribute to the musicals. Our reaction? When Hugh Jackman called out at the end, "The musical is alive and well!" we looked at each other and said, "no, you just killed it." Baz Luhrman looked downright embarrassed to be singled out and "credited" with that number. And before you dismiss this comment as from someone who doesn't like musicals...on the contrary, I adore Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly and all the big silly musicals of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. In the end, the only thing the musical number did was showcase Beyonce's talent as being far superior to everyone else's on that stage, including, and especially, Hugh Jackman, whose voice was thin and dancing uninspired.
And, I have to say that although the comments were sometimes overwrought and self-congratulatory, I enjoyed the actor-to-actor presentation of the nominees. For me, that was the best part of the show. I particularly appreciated the sincerity of Shirley McClain's comments and the jocular intimacy of Robert DeNiro's.
And whose bright idea was it to have Hugh Jackman dance in a black tuxedo against a black background? I could see a thing! He looked like a dismbodied vest head and hands floating over the stage.e
Loved this year's Oscars....the first time in a long time I stayed awake for the entire show.
rosebud
I thought this was the best put together Oscars in YEARS! The author of this article either saw a diffferent show or just likes to sound clever and disagreeable.
Also... with all of the important things to beef about, how did this get #1 position on the HP? Are we out of things to talk about?
I thought it was the best one I had seen in years. That surprised me because I haven't seen any of the nominated films and have felt no particular wish to do so. The last couple of years I have only managed the opening hour or so but this year I was quite entertained through to the end. I made it all the way to Barbara Walters (though I must confess enough was enough and I turned her off).
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