hollywood's biggest night has come and gone. last night, hollywood celebrated the 83rd annual academy awards. unfortunately, the awards were all around unexceptional. with no surprises on the awards front, awkward comedy bits and lackluster performances, the oscars didn't live up to the buzz surrounding them. the show opened with a billy crystal-style montage, with hosts anne hathaway and james franco taking an inception-style journey through the year's best picture noms.
but that montage was the best part of james franco's hosting. franco appeared stoned on stage, uninterested in what was happening on stage. he was more interested in pulling out his phone and live-tweeting his experience. anne hathaway wound up carrying the show. the academy chose hathaway and franco in an attempt to appeal to younger viewers, which the hosts referenced multiple times in their opening monologue. (my favorite part of the monologue? appearances by anne's mom and james' grandma). but it doesn't look like that risk totally paid off - ratings for the show were down from last year, but still above the 2008 and 2009 shows. i've always thought award shows should be hosted by comedians. it's just awkward to have oscar caliber actors poke fun at their peers. though, after sandra bullock presented the best actor award, i fully support her hosting the show next year. i'd also welcome the return of ellen degeneres. but, now, for the night's highlights.
the first major award handed out was best supporting actress, which (not surprisingly) went to the fighter's melissa leo. kirk douglas presented leo with the award in what i can only describe as the most drawn-out, painful and uncomfortable way possible. at least he's still with it at 94. i don't know if i can say the same for leo, whose speech - which included an f-bomb - did nothing to dispel those "crazy rumors.
leo's the fighter co-star christian bale continued his winning streak this season, taking home the best supporting actor trophy. bale kicked off a string of self-depricating, yet great, acceptance speeches.
the night felt bogged down (some bloggers said it felt 127 hours long...ha ha) with technical awards. producers did their best to keep the show moving, including a bizarre auto-tune bit (above).
natalie portman (again, no surprise) took home the best actress nod for black swan. i always get a little bit nervous when portman gives a speech - she always seems so awkward and uncomfortable during interviews. it's like she can't stand showing her real self. thankfully, her speech was actually pretty good.
colin firth - the night's best actor winner - gave my favorite acceptance speech of the night - it was funny, irreverent, short and sweet. too bad he'll probably have to make bridget jones 3 after this. or fortunately. depends on how you look at it.
i can't find good videos of the performances online, but randy newman, mandy moore and zachary levi, florence welch (of ...and the machine) and ar rahman and gwyneth paltrow all took the stage to perform the night's nominated original songs. none of the performances were great, but my favorite was definitely mandy and zachary performing "i see the light" from tangled. gwyneth paltrow, who i really, really like, seemed so nervous on stage. i blame it on the fact that she sang "coming home," rather than "country strong," which we've seen on just about every awards show this season.
the king's speech took home the biggest award of the night, best picture. while many predicted the social network, the academy usually awards more traditional movies, not ones that push envelopes and boundaries. the king's speech was the safe choice for the award, but also a deserving recipient.
the finale of last night's show was by far the best part - and not just because the show was over. new york's p.s. 22 choir came on stage to sing "over the rainbow," which was great in and of itself. but the real show stopper? all of the night's winners came back on stage at the end of the song for a final curtain call. how great of an idea was that? props to the producer who pitched that idea. they deserve a major promotion.
now for my best and worst dressed:
worst - helena bonham carter in...oh, who cares. she looks crazy.
best - jennifer lawrence in calvin klein. damn.
to see a full list of the night's winners, click here. it's going to be a long year until the next awards season, but - until then - i can't wait to see what hollywood brings to the big screen.
and for more of my take on the oscars, check out my uncensored live-tweets @bricesander.
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