OSCARS 2013 WRAP UP

What a wild ride the Oscars were this year...I really enjoyed the ceremony and the feast I prepared.

 

But be prepared for a bit of gushing and a bit of ranting as I have things I loved and things that irked me!

 

To me the Oscars are about 5 things: the host, the show, the awards, the fashion, and the commentary.

 

The Host

Seth MacFarlane did good...there I said it...but you know, I knew he would.

 

Yes, he is mostly known for his crossing the line gags...of which you will find plenty if you watch Family Guy. But if you take time to pay attention to Family Guy, this is a show that loves Hollywood and Popular Culture...and not just the modern stuff either. I see so many brilliant references to classic film in it and for that, I will always forgive him for the toilet humour. There are always great musical numbers in it too, of which he writes, scores and sings...he is the ultimate renaissance man. And this is why I was thrilled to hear he was hosting. I also had seen him sing the Bing Crosby part of Did You Evah a few years back and thought he was lip syncing to Bing...he was that good!

 

So he met my expectations to a certain degree, but to be honest I wanted more...

 

The cheaper gags - some of which went down well, some not so much (it's the toughest room ever) - I believe were placed ironically as that is what people expected. Either way I loved The Boob Song (and the hand puppets), cause it's freakin' true...mind you a Penis song featuring Fassbender and McGregor would have been equally as spectacular ;)

 

I think they used Shatner to reinforce the 'bad' gags...I don't think they needed to. Having said that, I adore Captain Kirk so why the hell not!?!

 

But the proper, classic song and dance numbers was where Seth shone. Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe adding an unexpected gravitas to the numbers.

 

And the fun with Sally Field was great, especially the get away in the Smokey and the Bandit car!

 

There may have been a closing number...but given Channel 9 abruptly ended the ceremony, who knows! (more on that later in commentary) I managed to catch it last night and it was a song about the losers with Kristin Chenoweth and was ok.

 

Yes, there were some misses, but mostly hits. I hope they get him back and make more use of that song and dance talent.

 

The Show

I liked how they grouped three Best Picture nominees together.

 

I liked the ensemble presenting - The Avengers and Chicago casts.

 

The presenting was hit and miss, odd coupling and bad writing, which is fairly normal, but seemed moreso this year...where is Ben Stiller when you need him!?!

 

I loved seeing a cut away to Jack in the front row...it ain't The Oscars without him.

 

Not a huge fan of Aniston, but loved how relaxed she was, very carefree, and a wink at someone - George? - in the audience.

 

Then, of course, there was Kristin Stewart - I forgive her FU attitude, after having to work in such bad movies like that Twilight shite, do you blame her attitude...I don't! People are having a field day with her limp, bruise, undone hair and unimpressed facial expressions...give the kid a break!

 

Loved the Jaws theme as playoff music, made me laugh very loudly.

 

There was a 50 years of Bond clip presented by an ageless Halle Berry, but totally overshadowed by Shirley Bassey knocking it out of the park with Goldfinger - First WOW of the night! She was awe inspiring and sounded great.

 

John Travolta was rolled out to present a tribute to musicals section. I say rolled out as he looked so plastic and corpselike I was concerned. This was a great section but I think a tribute to film musicals should have had a homage to the real musicals from the 30s and 40s...but, you know, that's me. Catherine Zeta Jones was great reenacting All That Jazz (one of my fave songs) from Chicago. No mean feat to pull that off. (An aside: "I'm no ones wife, I love my life and All That Jazz" - best lyric ever!!!!!) Then Jennifer Hudson killed us...again...with a glass shattering retell of I'm telling you that I'm not going. And then the entire (yes, entire) cast of Les Miserables made me tear up again with a melody of songs from the film - extraordinary!

 

I noticed as they cut away to the ads, young candy girls in peppermint satin outfits including hats, going round to the audience with treats - so cute!

 

And then there was Adele...goddamn she is good!!

 

I am still upset they have moved the special awards to another ceremony you don't get to see. These are important and excluding them is disrespectful to real film lovers and the honorees themselves. The premise behind this exclusion is people don't like it and it doesn't appeal to younger viewers!?!?! I think this is bs, and if you fit into this category, you don't 'get' The Oscars and can bugger off anyway! I could write a whole blog about this, but I won't!

 

Always love seeing Clooney, especially as he is rocking a cool haircut and beard at present. The In Memoriam seemed somewhat short. However the arrival of Barbra smoothed everything over. I adore her but felt her voice was not in the best of form. She still sounded great and I lurve The Way We Were (film and song, it's a favourite), always makes me smile and cry...I did both.

 

Also lovely to see Norah Jones looking great, and singing the song from Ted.

 

Oh and yeah, Jack comes out to present Best Picture, does his schtick and boom, down comes a screen with Michelle Obama on it, looking fine I might add...wow!!

 

So all up, the in between bits were excellent, you couldn't fault any of it.

 

The Awards

I stuck to my average of 16. I messed up Director and Supporting Actor - but very happy with the results. Also animated feature, doco short, make up and hair, production, sound editing, and live action short - all ones that are hard to predict.

 

There were a lot of dudes with long white hair winning the minor awards...go The Gandalf! Rather bizarre and amusing. The dude from Life of Pi gave an excellent, surreal, spaced out speech for Best Cinematography. And a tie for sound editing, luckily I got it wrong anyway...quite the surprise!

 

The Chicago cast presented the music awards, can't believe it's been ten years. But what is going on with Renee Zellweger? I hope she is ok, not heard of her in ages or seen her in a movie and whilst her eyes have always been a little different, she seemed to be having trouble seeing. And Catherine Zeta Jones's face doesn't look like her...sad!

 

I loved the odd pairing of Hoffman and Theron...so did Hoffman! I think the writing categories are the most important and was thinking exactly that when Quentin said it was a writer's year! Yes, I have QT living in my head! Love that he won too, cause he is awesome. I loved his passion for his writing and characters. He must be wonderful to work with.

 

Then there are the big 6. Waltz got his Supporting Actor nod early on. I loved that he won, I was torn between him and Dr Niro, he carried Django and was mesmerising for every second he was on screen. No surprises that Hathaway won Supporting Actress...though loved the cheers for Jackie Weaver.

 

So thrilled for Jennifer Lawrence, winning on her second nomination. She was gracious and honest, even after tripping up the stairs on the way to the stage...poor sweetie. Then Daniel Day Lewis gave a fabulously funny (who knew??) acceptance speech in the easiest no brainer of the night. All four winners gave extraordinary performances in an extraordinary year for acting (and writing).

 

Shock of the night was Ang Lee's Best Director nod. I was thrilled, I had my money on Spielberg (who I am not a fan of) cause I really thought he would win. He is the academy's demographic. But so pleased Ang Lee was rewarded for the impossible - making a stunning film of a stunning - but unfilmable - book. It's easily my favourite film this year. And Ang Lee's career has been so diverse. I loved Wedding Banquet so much.

 

And finally, no surprises with Best Picture Argo. Great speeches from the producer's including snubbed director Affleck. He was humble and honest...and you gotta love that!

 

The Commentary

Fasten your seatbelts...this is where it gets ranty! Firstly the commentary on MacFarlane...Theron looked cranky...it was a shot taken from elsewhere and spliced in, ditto for Watts. Really!?! Are people that stupid??? Yes, he fell over with some gags, but by god I've seen and heard worse. The commentary leading up to it had me more gobsmacked...do these people not research their subjects before they slag them off. If they knew the capabilites of the performer they would understand immediately why he was a good choice...and he was.

Since I posted this there has been a huge backlash about the misogyny of MacFarlane. Remember the Oscars have a huge team of writers, some of which would be his regular writers, some are Academy chosen. There were jokes he seemed uncomfortable telling. I can see why some people would think that way. I still see the irony in it. And it's kinda true, this is what happens, is mentioning it worse or shining a light on something that still needs some equality. I was not offended by any of the comments last night. I saw the irony and the intent as harmless. I would hardly think anyone would deliberately mean to go on a telecast like that to be a complete arse. And I might add that if these same people are going to pick on such things, they might like to add in the almost overshadowing of the actual telecast with the red carpet and the overwhelming attention to women's looks which could also be considered misogynistic...if you wanted to look at it that way!

 

The commentary on who will win based on The Golden Globes...I've said it before and I'll say it again...The Golden Globes have absolutely no bearing on who will win an Oscar...different people voting for different awards!

 

The commentary on how badly Australian Actors were done by. Naomi Watts was never ever going to win in the field she was in. No one stood a chance against Daniel Day Lewis from the moment it was leaked he was cast as Lincoln, it was a done deal. Shame for Jackman, but it was never going to happen, he had to know that. Ditto for Jackie, against Sally Field and Anne Hathaway, the other ladies also didn't stand a chance, Weaver said this herself on the red carpet. What happened to it's an honour to be nominated...sigh...

 

And then there was the commentary afterwards...ahhh Channel Nine, you've done it again!!! (Mind you, it could never top the year, I tuned in to watch and they put a short news break on prior to the ceremony AND said who the big winners were...seriously!!!)

 

So, there was mention of a closing number...but we'll never know as Channel Nine in their usual stupidity shut it down and put on the 'news'. I don't watch a lot of free to air and never watch free to air news, so this was a new thing to me. Oh good god, give me strength, there were three dipsy women talking about the show and giving their very ill informed opinions, getting names, winners and all sorts of information totally wrong!!!!! Then they cross to their correspondant in LA, who was even more inept. So Channel 9 shows these pieces not once, but three f**king times (excuse my French, but I was shocked at how incredibly more incompetent this very incompetent station could be..and truth be told, didn't think I could think any lower of them...but there you go). You know, basically taking up enough time to have actually showed the entire ending of the show!!! Give me strength!!!!

 

If you are going to commentate the Oscars, you really need to know your stuff...not just this year (but geez, that would be a start) but past years, understand The Academy, how it works, have an appreciation for the Golden Years that shaped Hollywood and the need to get it right on the night. Otherwise please don't...

 

The Fashion

Yes it's frivolous and a little bit vacuous, but it adds glamour to the event and hopefully takes the viewer back to a day in the past where glamour and Hollywood were synonymous.

 

I still ache for the years when someone stands out - for good or for bad.

 

But this year, as in the past few years, sleek, red, blue and neutral ruled.

 

Here are my favourites:

 

 

Reese Witherspoon

 

 

Jennifer Garner

 

  

 

Jennifer Lawrence

 

 

Anne Hathaway

 

Runners Up:

 

 

Sally Field

 

 

Jennifer Aniston

 







Amanda Seyfreid

 

Catherine Zeta Jones

 

And a couple I am still unsure about:

 

  

 

Besties, Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman

 

And then there is always Helena and HushPuppy ;)

 

 

 

(PS, I am aware of the bad formatting of the photos, but Blogger and photos almost always don't like to play together and tonight is no exception...I'm tired and it's either fix it and loose my remaining sanity or leave it as is...I'm taking the later!)

Anything in italics I added in this morning.