Same as it ever was.
So it was another glamorous, occasionally inspirational, utterly predictable and at times downright goofy night at the Academy Awards. All the prohibitive favorites won in the acting categories, Kathryn Bigelow made history as the first female director win an Oscar—-and “The Hurt Locker” triumphed over “Avatar” in most of the technical categories and in the two-film race for Best Picture. “The Hurt Locker” was the big winner of the night, with six trophies in all.
Best speech: Sandra Bullock, who was funny and humble and sincere and just a little scattered, but that was OK.
Worst speech: Purple Dress Lady saying “Let the woman speak!” At least she didn’t say Beyonce should have won.
Nice touch: those tributes to the nominees, with Oprah Winfrey making Gabourey Sidibe cry in a real-life scene that seemed like something out of “Precious” and her own fantasies; Stanley Tucci doing a great monologue about Meryl Streep and her endless string of nominations; and Colin Farrell reminding everyone Jeremy Renner was in “S.W.A.T.”
As for the show itself: why do we make a big deal out of who the host(s) will be, when every year the host(s) virtually disappear after the opening moments? Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin rebounded from a surprisingly just-above-average opening monologue (following Neil Patrick Harris’ underwhelming musical number) with a couple of clever taped bits involving the Snuggie and “Paranormal Activity,” but after that they served as mere traffic cops.
One thing to look for tomorrow: will conservative commentators give “The Hurt Locker” team credit for repeatedly paying tribute to our men and women in the Armed Forces? It was a far cry from Michael Moore and his “fictitious war” rant from a few years back. Kudos to Kathryn Bigelow for her words of praise for the troops that put their lives on the line for us—-regardless of the politics that put them in danger.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Your picks killed me in my pool.
I still love your reviews though…I’ll have to not be lazy and do my research next year!
March 8th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Richard
The conservative commentators will find something to complain about. You just can’t make them happy.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:24 am
It’s getting a bit ridiculous with all the Hurt Locker backlash that’s going on since it won tonight. People are going on to compare it as being one of the weakest best picture winners of all time, alongside movies like Crash and Shakespeare in Love. These are the same people who probably wanted Avatar to win. They need their heads examined.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:55 am
Extremely dissapointed neither Inglourious Basterds nor Up in the Air won the screenplay awards.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Well, that was a pretty abrupt ending! During the Best Actor part, Clooney looked pretty happy with all that lavish praise about him being a great and “good looking” actor—but his lady didn’t. Jeeealous! Purple Dress Lady—OH MY! I had a fitting 5 letter word that popped into my head when I saw her do that, but you can’t spell it with any of those letters in “Purple Dress Lady.”
March 8th, 2010 at 1:08 am
What are your thoughts about Tom Hanks ruining the oscars. They don’t even repeat to us the ten nominations. Whats the point of ten nominations anyway then. He just comes out opens the envelope and tells the winner and were just like what just happened. Thats it. The show is over already.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:03 am
Really? You’re going to drag politics into this? Your biases are disgusting, little boy. You should be ashamed of yourself.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Predictable?? Rich, you went from 22/24 down to 15/24!! I missed a bunch too but that percentage is hardly “predictable”!
March 8th, 2010 at 2:32 am
I refused to watch the oscars this year and for now on. They have been getting worse and worse each year since 2004. This year took the cake though. How can avatar win cinematography when it was computerized? That is disrespectful to actual cinematographers who fight their way into tight spaces to place cameras and lights. Its garbage. And richard, your friend roger ebert is losing it. Im probably not going to read his reviews anymore. He seems to be contradicting himself more and more and making some ridiculous statements… and somehow every movie has a political spin to him now. He needs to pull his head out.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I agree, Sandra’s speech was the best of the night.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I agree with Richard’s review of the Oscar telecast. What seemed like the most egregious point of the ceremony to me was really Mo’Nique’s acceptance speech. Not one acknowledgement to Gabourey Sidibe OR the author Sapphire who wrote the book OR the serious subject matter the film was about! It was all about “Mo’Nique”. Oprah and the gracious Sandra Bullock only gave appreciation to Sidibe. That’s sad. Shame on you Mo’Nique for being a little bit selfish for what really got you that Oscar. One could say that if you win, “you get lost in the moment and forget”, but Kathryn Bigelow gave part of her two acceptance speeches to the cause and the people her film was about–our troops. Martin and Baldwin could have been a lot funnier like we know they can be. They should really bring back Chris Rock to shake it up a bit between categories. If ratings keep declining for this annual telecast we know why and it’s not by adding popular movies to the nominees list. It’s how it’s presented and what it’s really about–Hollywood itself.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Matt:
I didn’t “drag politics” into this. I commented on Kathryn Bigelow’s speech. As for my “biases,” do you even understand the definition of the word? I’m an opinion columnist and a film review. I’m SUPPOSED to offer my views on subjects ranging from politics to pop culture to sports.
The “little boy” comment is just embarrassing–to you. Try to make a point without sounding like a child, and you’ll get more respect.
Richard
March 11th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
I thought Hurt Locker was just okay. True to live, probably, but that’s not what I like/look for in a movie. And in the end…he chooses that life over one with his child? Hogwash.
March 13th, 2010 at 12:41 am
I don’t understand what Neil Patrick Harris has to do with The Big Show? He is a TV actor not a movie star.
Richard, your comments on potential Hurt Locker sentiment and Bigelow’s words were spot on. Politics frequently crash this party. Conservative commentators are making issues out of anything as they look for excuses to blow. The Hurt Locker is a sweet little petunia to be mashed by a steamroller.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Sounds like the flick might deliver what is expected from the clip I watched