Thoughts on the Oscars

Absolutely no surprises, which for me made it rather dull. If I'd entered an Oscar prediction contest, I would have gotten every question right.

Hugh Jackman made a charming host, but that "The Musical Is Back" Production number was awful. Maybe if they'd left that out, the second half wouldn't have felt so rushed. Those presenters acted like they had to go pee as soon as they read off the names and announced the winners.

I doubt that Jennifer Anniston really could have seen Brad and Angelina sitting in the front row under those bright lights of the stage, but it did seem like she was avoiding looking to her right, where they were sitting. But the camerapeople had no problem with cutting to close-ups of Brad's face, did they? Three times during her presentation.

Is it me, or does Steve Martin never seem to age?

I liked the idea of having five past acting winners salute the five nominees. They all came off looking like winners in a time when the expression, "It's honor enough to be nominated," has become cliché.

Those kids from Slumdog Millionaire were adorable, but they must have been bored stiff, sitting through a show that ran longer than three hours. I'll bet they'd rather have been at Disneyland.

I hope that Freida Pinto, Slumdog's leading lady, has a mainstream career. What a beautifiul young lady.

Meryl Streep, who will be 60 years old this year, looks fabulous. So does Eva Marie Saint, who is over 80.

No one looked really bad, fashion-wise, aside from Mickey Rourke (which I'm surprised no one) other than Sophia Loren. That dress was awful. She's always been a big woman, both in height and in figure, and that poufy dress with its overabundance of material made her look like a runaway fabric rack. What surprised me was that no one mentioned that on the Monday morning shows, other than Barbara Walters, who very gingerly said she was "a little disappointed" in Ms. Loren's choice of such an overpowering dress before hastening to add how good Sophia looks in her senior years. Meanwhile, poor Sarah Jessica Parker was being raked over the coals for that bridal look that made her look like an overage Barbie doll (for a hilarious description of Ms. Parker's ensemble and other amusing comments, visit Donna D's blog). Could it be that Ms. Loren's iconic status shields her from criticism? Such things do happen, and in fields other than movies. I've seen one writer praised by a reviewer who gushed that her book was wonderful, casually mentioning that the author will ask readers to suspend belief and assuring that this was fine, then the very same reviewer blasting another writer's novel for being "unrealistic." Personally, I don't see the difference, and I'm convinced it has to do with the first writer being well known (and possibly personally known to the reviewer) and the second not so much. But I digress.

If anybody knows what Ben Stiller's fake beard was all about, please tell me. I didn't get it.

Where were those camerapeople during the In Memoriam segment? I couldn't see half the people's clips/photos or their names because the camera was pulled so far back. If they could zoom in on Brad Pitt every ten seconds during Jennifer Aniston's presentation, they should have been able to focus on the departed for two minutes.

Finally, I wasn't aware that Whoopi Goldberg had gained so much weight recently. Which brings me to me next blog posting.

You'll have to tune in tomorrow to see what that's about. I've already said enough today.

9 comments:

PatriciaW said...

Gotta go with Donna on this one. I thought Sophia looked good but also thought she was stuck in the 1960s when she used to really look good dressed like that.

Ladysilver said...

I was not sure why Alicia Keys wore that wig. I was not a fan of it. I did not get Beyonce with any jewels on...at least some earrings to cover her holes. But I loved the dress.

Anonymous said...

"I liked the idea of having five past acting winners salute the five nominees."

Bettye, that was the best part of the show to me. The host was okay. Is there some rule that Beyonce has to be at every event? Her presence there wasn't needed (and I'm not hating...smile), but there are others who could have done that...even brought out Olivia Newton John or somebody.

Anyway, yes it was VERY boring. I ended up playing with graphics on the computer while it played in the background just to stay awake.

I didn't think Slumdog should have gotten all of those awards, although I knew they probably would. I was disappointed that one of the two AA actress didn't win for best supporting.

I figured Sean Penn was going to win for his role. Some of the jokes done by presenters were just not funny.

Ref Whoopi. It didn't surprise me because I watch the View on a regular basis. She doesn't really eat either so it's not like she pigs out. Anyway, I wished she would have chosen another dress. I love Whoopi...she's the only reason why I watch the View.

I loved Queen Latifah's dress.

Ladysilver, I thought that was Alicia Key's hair. Her natural hair is pretty long. Goes to show you what I know.

bettye griffin said...

Patricia, Stuck in a time warp was a good way to describe Sophia's look, with the big hair and big dress.

Wow, Ladysilver, was that a wig Alicia Keys wore? I figured she just took the braids taken out and started wearing her own hair!

Shelia, Queen Latifah (and the well-dressed Mo'Nique as well) can really teach some other big girls liek Aretha and Whoopi how to always look nice no matter how heavy you are. And don't worry about Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson. Their careers are definitely on the rise . . . and their fees went up the moment the nominations were announced.

BTW, love your comment about the existence of a possible Beyoncé rule!

DonnaD said...

They should've had Alicia Keys or Akila Noni Rose sing and dance with Hugh. Anything other than Beyonce.

And the Ben Stiller gag was a play on Joaquin Phoenix's appearance on David Letterman a few weeks ago. It was bizarre to say the least. Even David couldn't figure what to make of it. You can find it on YouTube I'm sure. Apparently, Hollywood insiders didn't appreciate the joke as many are concerned for Phoenix's mental health.

As for Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson, let me say this: we got our token nominations. And Bill Zwecker's column about the after-parties indicated Ms. Davis was less than gracious about losing out. I expect Henson's star to rise; Davis will be back doing the L&O rounds before long.

DonnaD said...

Oh - thanks for the shoutout on my blog! I'm going to do one on Akila Noni Rose this week.

bettye griffin said...

Donna, I don't look at Viola and Tarajii's nominations as tokenism. They beat out other actresses to land for parts in the type of prestigious, high-visibility films that are usually recognized at Oscar time. Four people from Doubt were nominated; to have excluded Viola Davis would have been just awful.

I'm sorry to hear that Ms. Davis behaved so ungraciously. I guess she must not have believed the expectations that the award would probably go to Penelope Cruz (what is it about Woody Allen directing women to Oscar nominations and sometimes even wins?). If she didn't feel honored by the tribute the prior winners paid her and the other nominees, there's some humility missing.

You're welcome for the shout-out! Keep on blogging, sistah!

Carleen Brice said...

I whole-heartedly agree about the musical number. Brought the whole thing down.

Ben Stiller's beard was him impersonating Joaquin Phoenix, the actor who has said he's retiring and becoming a rapper and seems to be on the verge of some kind of breakdown.

bettye griffin said...

Carleen, your post reminded me that I neglected to thank Donna for filling me in on Ben Stiller's gag. Thank you to you as well. I really need to keep up better with pop culture.

Carleen, I also wanted to congratulate you on having your book Orange Mint and Honey optioned by the Lifetime Movie Network. That's quite an accomplishment!