I enjoy watching the special coverage of stars on the red carpet, but last night I missed Joan Rivers more than I would like to admit.
Noticeably missing from the red carpet, and from the show, were the big stars of Hollywood last night. I usually look forward to seeing Denzel Washington, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and many more. Matt Damon mentioned another one of my favorites, Michael Douglas, when he spoke of an upcoming project, but he was not in attendance either.
Tom Hanks showing up as a presenter came as a surprise for me because I did not see him arrive on the red carpet. I watched the red carpet coverage on two different channels, and saw the same people on both.
Last night's Oscar show lacked the glitz and glamour of the old Hollywood even more than shows in past years. If any big names did show up last night, I did not see them.
The Academy Awards show even included many television stars last night as presenters. I thought that was odd and wondered if they ran out of movie stars.
Many of the female stars wore dresses that had too much going on. I liked the different colors worn by the gals, but it seemed as though most of them wore dresses that designers used leftover material on that they did not want to waste.
I wanted first to make mention of a remark Ryan Seacrest made about Anna Kendrick's dress, that people are talking about this morning. He tried to describe the color of the dress and hesitated for a few seconds, and then said it was 'skin color'. I heard a little chatter about this remark this morning, but people should lighten up. He was referring to the color of Anna Kendrick's skin and not making a racist remark as some have suggested.
Zoe Seldana's dress looked like it had a giant purple poodle attached to the bottom. She was not the only one who wore a dress with slop attached to it.
The blue color of Maggie Gylenhaal was pretty but it looked like someone spilled black ink all over it.
I think Sigourney Weaver's dress was flattering. The deep red color looked good on her, but the black belt looked like she threw on a belt from a raincoat at the last minute. It did not match the dress.
I really liked Sandra Bullock's dress but it was a tiny bit too shiny in the bottom half.
I loved Penelope Cruz's dress. It looked liked the color of plum pudding. Miley Cyrus' dress was similar to many of the dresses I saw last night. The top part of it looked unfinished. If you watch Project Runway, you will know what I mean when I say it looks like the designer did not have time to finish the top part before heading to the runway. The top half of her body looked all sucked in. She was not the only one whose dress did that to a woman's figure. Miley also looked like a giant up on stage, but I think the dress caused the optical illusion.
On the red carpet, Ryan mentioned that the movie, The Hurt Locker, touched a nerve with some. He did not elaborate but I think he spoke of the controversy surrounding the movie which some Iraq war veterans contained inaccuracies and falsehoods about the troops. I did not see the movie, but for Hollywood to include a war movie in with their nominated films, it had to contain controversy. The enormous snub of Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" proves that point.
I loved the style and color of Sarah Jessica Parker's dress. I just wish the flower decoration at the top, in the front and back of the dress, were a different color. I think the black roses should have been a lighter color. It was a pretty dress, though.
Charlize Theron's dress reminded me of the dresses with the cones sticking out of the breasts of women in videos from the 1980's. The pink rose-like decoration on her chest made the otherwise light purple dress, look hideous.
The more I see of Matt Damon, the less I like him. Instead of praising his co-star Morgan Freeman for the fabulous job he did portraying Nelson Mandela, Matt instead chose to voice his opinion on the person his costar played in the film. Given the way Matt has been vocal about the war US troops are now fighting, it would be better if he kept quiet about things for a while.
Not that she is anyone, but I wanted to mention that George Clooney's girlfriend rushed out of the house without a bra, to the awards' show. The red color of the dress was the same color as Sigourney Weaver's minus the bra.
Rachel McAdams, although I am unsure who she is, wore a dress similar in style to Miley Cyrus, where the top part looked unfinished.
Jennifer Lopez's dress would have appealed to me more if it did not have the giant train attached to it. It looked like a small child was hiding underneath it and sticking out of the side. She does seem like she is a nice person even though I do not care for her music.
Speaking about women and fashion, during the red carpet show, an ad came on featuring Evangeline Lilly from the popular show, LOST. It was an L'Oreal makeup commercial. In my opinion, the girl who plays 'Kate' on the show does not need an ounce of makeup on her face. She has natural beauty. On the other hand, the other actress in the same add, Eva Longoria, had the makeup piled on, and it leaves me to wonder what she would look like without it.
When interviewed, Jeff Bridges appeared gracious and humble, and he looked handsome last night, despite the long hair and beard he donned for the movie, Crazy Heart.
Ryan mentioned that there were many stars on the red carpet, and then ruined the statement by naming Miley Cyrus and Meryl Streep in the same category. Yes, the Oscars have changed considerably in recent years, apparently.
On the other red carpet special, I had to endure the babbling of one of the women on The View. I noticed that Penelope Cruz not only wore a dress similar to Vera Farmgia, but it seems she also forgot to bring her translator. I could not understand a word she said, and it looked like the host could not either.
George Clooney, handsome as ever, although starting to show his age a little but we are all, was either going overboard living up to his silly practical joking side, or he had one too many to drink before showing up to the red carpet party.
When the painstakingly long red carpet show ended and the awards show began, I was hoping that Neil Patrick Harris would be hosting the show as a last minute schedule change. I do not currently watch his How I met your Mother show, but I loved him on Doogie Howser and while he also proved that he is a fine dramatic actor, and a decent singer as well.
Unfortunately, the joy did not last when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, the Oscars' host, stepped out on stage. Their whole routine was stiff and not funny at all. Alec Baldwin was even a little more comical than Steve Martin, who is supposed to be a stand-up comic, has not been funny since his stint on Saturday Night Live, as one of two "wild and crazy" guys with Dan Akroyd.
Was I reading too much into George Clooney's jokes about Jeff Bridges, up against him in the Best Actor category, or was he poking fun at Jeff being in the same category as him?
I noticed when the hosts made a joke about him, that George did not seem amused. He also did not seem to think the joke they made about Toyota was funny, either. Can George not take a joke? I loved him on ER, but I do not think he is, as one of the hosts of the red carpet show said, one of the greatest actors.
I also noticed that Alec Baldwin had an annoying tick, slapping his hand against the side of his body. Maybe he is going through the DT's after his last stint in the hospital with a reported drug overdose.
When they finally got down to some of the important awards, I was hoping to see Christopher Plummer receive the award for Best Supporting Actor. Nominated for numerous Emmys, one for his role in the Thorn Birds, the miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain, the Academy Awards overlooked his outstanding performances in A Beautiful Mind and in The Insider. As the Oscars usually go to an elderly actor who never received an award when deserving it in the past, I was surprised he did not get it this year.
What was with Robert Downey Jr not taking his blue tinted sunglasses off while presenting? I hope that does not mean he is back on the sauce again.
The tribute to John Hughes was strange for me. Seeing Molly Ringwald all grown up and almost looking like Carol Burnett was weird. I noticed that many of the "brat pack" from John Hughes' films has had substance abuse problems, like Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., and Ally Sheedy. Speaking of Ally Sheedy, why did she look 20 years older than the rest of them? The same goes for Judd Nelson.
The tribute to horror films was enjoyable, but out of all of the films they showed, JAWS was the frontrunner. Stephen King's films Carrie, and Misery along with Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds were great horror films as well. Along with the original Dracula movie and Amityville Horror, the other two great horror flicks were The Shining and Rosemary's Baby. That movie creeped me out as a kid and it is still scary today.
Demi Moore presented an award last night and I thought her peachy-colored dress was pretty, but had too much going on at the bottom. That must be in style this year to have a lot of junk added on to an otherwise pretty gown.
I loved hearing James Taylor perform during the tribute to those who have passed away in the last year. Was Farrah Fawcett missing from the tribute or did I just miss her? Two beautiful actresses from the days when Hollywood had many glamorous stars, Jennifer Jones and Jean Simmons both passed away last year. They were as beautiful in their later years as they were when they were young.
I was glad when The Cove won for best documentary. Up against The Cove was a propaganda film about the 'secrets of the Vietnam War'. That would have been too over the top to have this documentary win, when The Hurt Locker was enough to get the anti-war crowd in Hollywood buzzing. I am also a fan of one of the producers of The Cove, Fisher Stevens, known for many roles, including two shows I watched, LOST and Early Edition.
I did not see the movie, Precious, but Monique received rave reviews from critics for her performance. I am glad she won, but I was even happier to hear her say that the Academy went for the performance when considering the winner, instead of the politics. I hoped she was referring to the hype over Avatar, but she could also be saying that the talk of the anti-war subliminal message in The Hurt Locker did not belong in the entertainment world. Considering Avatar because it brought in tons of money like Cameron's other film, Titanic. The point of movies that draw in large crowds is moot, because Alice in Wonderland topped it over the weekend anyway.
Michelle Pfeiffer looked gorgeous as she always does, and I loved her sincere moving tribute to her costar in The Baker Boys, Jeff Bridges. I also loved seeing and hearing Colin Farrell, even though he was singing the praises of Jeremy Renner, Jeff Bridges' competition in the Best Actor category. I love Colin's accent and I do not get to hear it often in his movies.
I was so glad that, as rumored, Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor. I especially love that he always expressed his love and thanks to his family. His acceptance speech was humble and heartfelt, and there was nothing phony about it or about him.
I was also excited about Sandra Bullock's win. I am a big fan of her work anyway, but for the Academy recognize her talent with a win for a dramatic role, something she does not do often, was great. It was almost worth sitting through all those hours of the awards' show to see that.
When Barbra Streisand came out on stage to present the Best Director Award, I knew that Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, would win. Could it be more obvious, with Streisand receiving a nomination for Best Director years ago? There was no surprise there for me.
It was also no surprise to know that the Academy Awards gave the Best Picture award to an anti-US troop's film. Next year, no doubt, Roman Polanski's Ghost Writer will get an Oscar nomination and if Holly weird has its way, we will see him up on stage accepting the award.
Suffering through what seemed like the longest Academy Awards show in history, was worth sitting through to see Bullock and Bridges walk away with their first win. I was pleasantly surprised to note that the only anti-war message the Academy sent to the viewing audience, was to give the Best Picture Award to a film with inaccuracies and untruths about our US troops. I predicted The Hurt Locker would win, but I am happy with the Best Actor and Best Actress wins.
The good news is that this show is over for another year and now all that is left is the chatter about who won and who lost, and why. A long program, two boring co-hosts, and three well deserved wins sums up my review of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.
What do you think?
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