A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE OSCARS

A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE OSCARS:

First off, let's address the mystery of why Jon Stewart seemed to bomb. One possibility is that the absence of laughter was a sign of incomprehension. The live audience simply didn't get a lot of his jokes. Let's call this the Dumbass Theory. The other possibility is that he simply didn't accord the gigantic, self-satisfied, humorless egos of hollywood the respect (nay, adulation) they demand. Indeed, people in Hollywood are capable of laughing at almost anything: Except themselves. Especially on this sacred night of self-satisfaction. Hosts like Billy Crystal are beloved by the academy and its members because they offer the gratifying spectacle of deep reverence masquerading as complete irreverence. Untempered by star-struck awe, Stewart's irreverence was simply not appreciated. Plus it dared to reference some extra-Hollywood political realities that suggested that--Spielberg Forbid--the Motion Picture Industry was not the center of the universe. Hollywod was busy feeling really good about itself in this year of the Social Issue and demanded admiration for its display of ostensible activism and awareness. Anyhow, call this the Kiss Our Butt While Acting Like You're Not or Die theory of hostly failure. Anyhow, my suspicion is that the less than stellar reception Stewart got was attributable to some hybrid of the two factors. A case of dumbassness exacerbated by some acute kiss our ass while pretending that you're not or die-itis. In any event, the comic seemed stunned and disheartened by the tepidness of response (and self-flagellating about his apparent underestimation of Hollywood's need for displays of implied if not explicit obeissance) and lost his comedic mojo. His desire to be loved by the live audience was in conflict with his desire to offer up material that would make the ideal audience in his mind laugh and he ended up just sort of lost between the two.

DAIS CAM COMMENTARY OF THE NIGHT:

Also: What about The Dais Cam--that new speaker's POV camera angle that has you staring down into the first few rows of superstars? For me, the net revelation of this broadcast innovation was this: Damn, are those people bored! Rarely if ever would the camera cut to that POV and reveal a cluster of rapt, attentive viewers. Instead, we'd almost always see a bunch of glazed over, ADD-addled prima donnas staring off into the rafters or fidgeting in their seats or whispering to each other like kids in the back of the class during a boring lecture. If the acting challenge of the evening was to look engaged and interested, very few of them gave an Oscar worthy performance. It was clearly agony for most of them not to be the center of attention for so long a period of time. And it was simply beyond their actorly abilities to feign interest in anything beyond the fate of their own nominations or the relative hotness of their competitors' spouses.

OK, a bit ungenerous. But a grain of truth, no?

BLOWN OPPORTUNITY OF THE NIGHT:

Blown opportunity by the March of the Penguin French guys. Instead of tht lame gesture of carrying stuffed penguins up to the dais, they could have taken advantage of the fact that they WERE ALREADY DRESSED LIKE PENGUINS and just worn penguin beaks or something. How elegant and cool would that have been?

UPSTAGING OF THE NIGHT:

I felt sorry for whoever it was (see I can't even remember myself) that was given the award by the dazzlingly, stupefyingly beautiful Charlize Theron. The cameraman framed their acceptance speech wide enough to leave Ms. Theron in the frame... guaranteeing that not a single viewer kept his focus on the elated award recipients in their crowning moment of glory.

I actually felt sorry for Jennifer Lopez--a gorgeous woman who looked ordinary at best due to the misfortune of having to follow Charlize up to the dais.

I sort of felt similar empathy for whoever it was that followed Jessica Alba. My freaking goodness.

I loved when the guy who won the Best Foreign Language film was making a heartfelt appeal to the fact that "No films are foreign. Films all speak the same language...they speak the language of the human heart...Ok it says "Wrap it Up" goodnight." In recognition of the fact that Hollywood acknowledges the universality of film and the language of cinema, they gave him a total of 12 seconds to give his acceptance speech. If anything, they should give those guys more time. I mean, they aren't even speaking their own language up there.

COMMERCIAL OBSERVATION OF THE NIGHT:

I saw a promo for a show that seemed to be a spoof of the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. Then I realized: It was the local news. I can't think of a more subversive effect for a show to have than to truly invert the perceived relationship between the "real" and the "fake."

CONFESSION OF THE NIGHT:

I was 14 for 14 in my picks. I'm embarrassed because it suggests a degree of involvement in the life of Hollywood that is really pathological. But, in fact, I was able to have such success because of the distance I keep. The only pick I had some doubt about was "Crash" over "Brokeback", but I relied on the fact that in the Great 2006 Oscar Referendum on Social Issues, the Race thing would trump the Gay thing because a) more people could relate to it b) Hollywood would feel better about itself for recognizing it and c) it contained a grain of redemptive we're-all-in-it-together hope. When it was announced, I felt an immediate sense of triumph about my perfect performance followed by an enduring sense of shame.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

Was it just me or did anyone else notice that the last words of the night (uttered by the Producer recipient of the "Crash" award) seemed to be: "And finally, I want to thank my husband and my wife...?"

Tags:   None

© All rights reserved.

Posted on 3/7/2006 ( Permanent Link )
Read 452 Times
 Send to Friend