The Oscar telecast starts off well with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, coming down from video feed to tell Seth McFarlane a prophecy that tomorrow Seth will be announced as the worst Oscar host ever. Humor is Seth’s bread and butter, so any fault of the live event is not his to bear.
He tries to avert the prediction of time-travelling Captain Kirk by conducting a dance number or two that plays out adequate at first; Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum’s dance is stiff, but Danielle Radcliffe and JGL’s duo is excellent.
The musical/music theme is frankly boring. And it drags the production very soundly. If only more time could be devoted to the winners speeches than a theme that is best reserved for the Grammys. The winners have gratitude to express and they can only express appreciation for the Academy.
“They tried to take it from her [Amy Adams] and then she bit a guy” says McFarlane about Sally Fields hypothetical absence, whereupon runner-up Amy Adams steals the award. Amy Adams in truth never has to steal anything; not to say she doesn’t commit the habit like a more talented Winona Ryder but when she wins an award she ends up receiving the collective admiration in a very deserving fashion. The bias towards her is probably that she is the new Lois Lane for this year’s first installment of an epic Superman franchise, produced by Dark Knight’s Christopher Nolan.
When Paul Rudd comes on to announce the animated features he appears half retarded, in fact he is among many like Kristen Stewart who seem intoxicated, or high, to say the least. The winner of the animated feature Brave show up in kilt.
The best moments of this year’s telecast is encapsulated by the fact that the truly deserving win and the Academy seems more calculated this year. Ang Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Daniel Day Lewis, Jennifer Laurence, and finally Argo itself receive the grand seal of approval.
Thus the Academy seem like they’re on the right track. Like a hive they select the next big thing and tout it as their queen. Both winners Ann Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence have a team behind them, like high school guidance counselors who decide who is going to the best colleges. It’s a consortium who determines the obvious talent of these winners. And like the evidence of Michelle Obama’s big reveal, it will be interesting to see who this California high school talent show decides to back come 2016; who knows, maybe George Clooney could be the Democrats’ Reagan. Only time and box office receipts will tell.
