And the Oscar Goes to....

Well, I know this is a little late in coming, and perhaps, you don't even care anymore, but I had promised to write about the Oscars so here it goes.

The telecast was, overall, enjoyable. I thought Hugh Jackman did a fine job hosting (though I still have yet to see anyone top Billy Crystal), and I really enjoyed pieces of his opening number. However, to me, the Oscars are so much about glitz and glamour that I found his "home-built sets" too tacky to find funny. My favorite part was probably the bit where Anne Hathaway sang. Who knew that she had an absolutely gorgeous voice? Someone put this girl in a musical now! Might I suggest a musical version of the The Princess Diaries?

Although I adore musicals, I found Hugh Jackman's "The Musical is Back" montage exceedingly underwhelming. He and Beyonce simply did not mesh as a performing couple. It was like watching Fred Astaire and MC Hammer attempt to perform together -- it just doesn't work. And furthermore, why were the clips of the songs so short? Were they trying to avoid extensive copyright fees by putting only one line of the song in? It prevented the segment from having any sort of flow. Furthermore, why in god's name were Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens performing at the Oscars (and why was Miley Cyrus in attendance?)? Not only are they rather untalented, but those of us watching the Oscars absolutely don't want to see any reminders of High School Musical. It's a pathetic attempt at film-making and a shame to the musical genre. However, this number did have a high point, when members of the Trojan Marching Band came out to back up Hugh and Beyonce. The TMB makes any performance better -- no matter what the circumstances.

Speaking of musical numbers, who came up with the idea for the Best Song presentation this year? I already wrote off this category for the year when the Aacdemy snubbed the Boss, but this was the absolute lowest point of the evening. No wonder Peter Gabriel declined to perform. If my Oscar nominated song was being remixed with the base line from "Jai Ho," I would refuse to participate too. This was an absolute train wreck. It gave you no real feeling for what any of the nominated songs actually sounded like in their entirety. Next year, can we please go back to just having each of the performers sing what they were nominated for with the integrity of the song intact?

Personally, they two funniest parts of the evening had nothing to do with Hugh Jackman. The most enjoyable ten minutes were the ones I spent watching James Franco and Seth Rogen, in the guises of their Pineapple Express characters, watching movies from the past year. It was hysterical watching their wildly inappropriate laughter at The Reader and Doubt, and I also got a real kick out of Franco watching himself in Milk and commencing to put his arms around a very uncomfortable Rogen. From now on, the Oscars should always have a segment directed by Judd Apatow. And kudos to Ben Stiller for a perplexing, yet hilarious send-up of Joaquin Phoenix.

As for the new format of the show, it took some getting used to, but I did like it in the end. I vastly preferred the order in which they handed out the awards to the usual random conglomeration, leaving all the big awards for the end. The idea to present the awards while simultaneously discussing how to make a movie was truly inspired. It was nice to have the screenplay awards be given out in the first half of the evening. Speaking of which, was anyone else on the verge of tears during Dustin Lance Black's acceptance speech? What an honest and touching show of thanks! I was so glad to see what I thought was the best film of the year awarded for its truly fantastic script. I also really liked the way they had five past winners present the acting awards. I must say, I did miss my little "Oscar winning moment" clips, but it was nice to see people like Eva Marie Saint and Robert De Niro presenting an award. I particularly enjoyed the new approach to presenting the five films nominated for Best Picture. Whoever edited that montage of the films with classic films with corresponding lines and themes interspersed did a fantastic job! Can this please be the way we always see the Best Picture award presented?

And now for my analysis on some of the major awards: With award season lasting for two months and the Oscars at the concluding end, most of the awards were quite predictable.

Best Picture: I can't say I was surprised to see Slumdog Millionaire win, but I still wish it hadn't. This film was so unbelievably over-hyped, and when people watch it in five years, I think they will find that it doesn't quite hold up. The storyline was cliche and trite in its attempt to suggest that growing up in extreme poverty can teach you what you need to know to win a game show and find your lost love. The idea that appearing on a game show would be an easy feat and that winning could make the horrors of one's life worthwhile experiences is infantile. Furthermore, advertised as a "feel good film" the film expects audiences, like Jamal, to forget the horrific nature of the first hour and a half of the film once he gets his happy ending. Maybe it's just me, but this film didn't leave me with a sense of bouyuant optimism and hope...it just left me fixated on the terrible things that human beings do to one another overriding whatever 10 minute happy ending it might have. I mean, don't get me wrong, as a lover of the romantic comedy, I welcome films that are cliched. But I don't welcome them being called true art. Both Milk and The Reader deserved this award over Slumdog. They were wholy original approaches to old topics, and moving, touching films. I would have liked to seen Milk win for its outstanding ensemble and the way it flawlessly incorporated actual footage into a story that touched me more than any other this year.

Best Actor: There was a lot of grumbling about the fact that Mickey Rourke didn't win, but personally I don't think playing a washed-up loser was much of a stretch for the man. But perhaps I'm being too harsh -- I didn't see The Wrestler after all, so I don't really have a right to comment on Rourke's performance. Penn, however, truly deserved this award. He did something I have never seen him do before and really stretched himself. After all, he did play a character who spent a good portion of the film smiling. ; ) A feat in itself for Penn. No, but seriously, he did not make Milk a caricature, but rather a three dimensional being, faults and all. He made me fall in love with Harvey Milk -- a man who I did not know much about before the film. Penn was the heart and soul of this superb film and deserved all the accolades he got.

Best Actress: All I can say is finally! Kate Winslet, in conjunction with Merly Streep, is arguably the best actress of our times. If her 6 career nominations up to this point are not a testament to this fact, I don't know what is. She was astounding as Hanna Schmitt, fully exploring a woman who I would not relish getting to know. But yet, her ability to make a callous and largely unlikeable woman undeniably appealing is just part of the nuance of her phenomenal performance. I know many detractors may say that she only won because she did a Holocaust film, but I disagree. To begin with, The Reader is not about the Holocaust. It is about the effect that we have on each other's lives, often without realizing the enormity of that effect. And irregardless, even if it was a Holocaust film - Winslet gave the best performance of the year, hands down.

Not much else to say, besides that I was glad that Heath Ledger and Wall-E both won. Ledger's family's speech was the most heart-wrenching portion of the evening (especially given that the In Memoriam segment was ruined by odd camera angles). All in all, it was an enjoyable, if predictable evening. Until next time, here's looking at you kid...

-Reel Classic Dame