Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer weighs in on the 80th annual Academy Awards
Well, all those cynics who predicted this would be the worst Academy Awards ceremony ever were wrong. However, because it's become so uncool to say anything nice about the Oscar telecast, don't look for candor in the mainstream press. This certainly wasn't the most memorable of telecasts, but given the short deadline producer Gil Cates had to prepare for the event after the WGA strike was settled, he can take a semi-bow for pulling it all off rather seamlessly. For one thing, the pacing was very fast (by Oscar standards) and the decision in recent years to drop those dreadful opening production numbers looks wiser with every broadcast. I actually thought the awards started at 8:00 PM east coast time, so I was a bit ticked off to find myself watching a half hour "red carpet" teaser show hosted by amiable goofball Regis Philbin. Like Larry King, Philbin's made a fortune off being - well, amiable without having to give his brain cells much of a workout. What Philbin knows about movie history could fit on the head of a pin, so his comments were all of the cringing, arse-kissing variety ("Everybody wants to be George Clooney!" he panted to the Oscar-nominated star). The Reege almost got through the entire half hour without a customary display of his ignorance, but then in the final seconds, he introduced Javier Bardem as "Xavier Bardem", thus obvously channeling the spirit of bandleader Xavier Cougat, who is probably Philbin's idea of a hip celeb.
Once the ceremonies began, Jon Stewart seemed far more comfortable than his first time around as host in 2006. He got off some mildly amusing zingers and a minimum of duds. Throughout the evening, however, his performance wavered on several occasions, though a well-placed observation generally salvaged his performance. He's not the ideal host for this gig, but he wasn't the disaster many of us feared. (For that we'd have to go back to David Letterman's (hopefully) one-shot brush with being an Oscar host.) An impressive aspect of the show was the presence of real star power (or what passes for real star power today.) Not long ago, it was considered too corny to attend the awards, so many major stars stayed away. However, the pendulum seems to have swung back and it was nice to see so many big names in attendance: Harrison Ford (refreshingly, looking as pained and grumpy as ever), John Travolta (still with the bizarre haircut that resembles a skullcap), Tom Hanks, Martin Scorsese, Helen Mirren,Cameron Diaz, Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, - and even living legend Mickey Rooney, who probably had to show ID to the ushers to prove he wasn't a limo driver. Highlights of the show included the usual heart-felt tribute to the staggering number of artists who had died in the previous year. (Even well-known agents were included this time around). Unavoidably, the tribute had to end on the somber note of Heath Ledger's passing. Many movie fans probably don't realize how many well known people from the industry have died until they watch this segment of the Oscar show. Another nice gesture was the inclusion of U.S. servicemen and women announcing the nominees and winner for documentary short. The broadcast came from Baghdad and might have been a sop to right wingers because of the abundance of nominated documentary films that were harshly critical of U.S war policy. In any event, it was a good moment.
The absurdity of limiting winners to an acceptance speech of less than a minute became increasingly irritating and embarrassing. Here are people at the pinnacle of their professional careers and if one takes the time to mention their mother in their acceptance speech, then their partner probably loses the opportunity to speak at all. Let these people talk - some will undoubtedly be boring, but occasionally someone will say something profound or memorable. When young songwriter Marketa Irglova was shafted out of being able to speak when her co-writer took up her precious twenty seconds of time, Jon Stewart very graciously invited her out to the stage later to give her speech. It firmly put the spotlight on how ridiculous these time limitations had become - and it's a reason other awards shows that don't have this rule have begun to make serious inroads on Oscar.
For the most part, the stars looked good. There were no completely over-the-top outfits, except for an avant garde number that first time screenwriter Diablo Cody wore on stage to accept her well-deserved Oscar for the charming and funny Juno. However, since Cody's previous career was as a stripper, we'll give her a pass. Most of the men looked handsome and elegant and none wore those awful, designer cowboy tuxes that usually show up. (Though we do wish the craze for tuxedos with straight ties will pass! There is nothing more flattering than the old standard black tux with bow tie. - and if you doubt me, just look at George Clooney. who has the timeless elegance of Cary Grant). The women looked appropriately stunning, though we kind of miss the Cher era in which at least one eye-popping number dominated the fashion columns the following morning. The only truly awful wardrobe malfunction was Jennifer Hudson's white gown. We know she's a full-figured woman, but this little number made her look like an aircraft carrier. I expected to see U.S.S. Enterprise stenciled on her rear end.