1) Yay! I won!
2) I was so rooting for Ellen to hit it out of the ballpark, y’all. And she was… fine. After last year’s offensive shitshow of a hosting job by Seth MacFarlane, I can understand the decision to play things safe. But it came off as a little bit tired and flat.
3) Speaking of tired and flat, last night was the first time I’ve watched the show and considered heading to bed before it was over. The Better Half (as is his wont) started snoozing midway through, and sleepily waiting for the crush of big awards they cram into the end of the program began to seem less worth the lost rest. I’m gonna see if I can rustle up some friends to watch with me next year, since watching on my own is decidedly less fun than the Oscar parties I used to go to.
(I already know in advance that, company or no, I will stay up until the end of the damn thing again next year.)
4) I-di-na Men-zel. It is not a difficult name, Travolta. Pathetic.
5) Pharrell’s song and dance number may be my favorite of such performances at the Oscars… maybe ever. That song is fantastic, and seeing Lupita Nyong’o shimmy was a delight.
6) I could really have done without Bette Midler singing “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Perhaps it’s my cold, dark tar heart, but I have never really liked that song, and it makes absolutely no sense in the context of commemorating the lives of people who were (at least many of them) stars in their own right. Hackneyed, maudlin, obvious.
7) I am very glad Cate Blanchett won. Now I really hope Amy Adams gets nominated again next year and wins for something. Preferably something good, so she can avoid Kate Winslet’s fate of getting nominated year after year for great performances and finally winning a make-up Oscar for a lesser one.
8) Wow. The sound system at the Dolby Theater was not prepared for the woman who starred in “20 Feet from Stardom.”
9) None of this year’s winners made me want to choke someone. In that regard, at least, it was much better than 2005.
10) I will conclude with my usual complaint — enough already with the montages!! In a show that invariably runs way too long, they are easy fat to trim that absolutely nobody would miss. The “heroes” montage (Ben Hur? Really?) was a complete waste of time, and the animation one was laughably heavy on recent stuff.
Your thoughts?
Update (Sort of. But not really.):
I just thought of a couple of other things I wanted to mention. (See above re: “random.”)
11) I have no beef with McConaughey winning. On the other hand, that thing about him in 10 years being his hero was bizarre. I am done seeing him accept awards now for a good while.
12) Kim Novak? I… do not understand that choice.
Very curious to see who does and doesn’t critize Ellen for some of the people she took shots at, and how she took them (e.g. liza Minnelli you look like a cross-dressing man).
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