The Worst Oscars Ever.

The title of this blogpost might be a bit ominous... but it's true. This was the least exciting Oscars in nearly every sense. The show opened with a retro dance number starring beloved Neil Patrick Harris. It was cute, but not that funny- and he did such a good job hosting the Tony Awards in 2009, I thought he could pull through. After NPH left the stage, our hosts for the evening, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin subjected the audience to a series of awkward one-liners. Some lines were funny (admitedly, all the funny quips were made by Martin) but it was not engaging. I would have preferred to see them mix in some video sketches or funny clips to break up the opener. I think next year, the Academy has to consider Andy Samberg as a host, or at least let him create one of his brilliant digital shorts to open up the show in a more jovial way.

The show went on slowly, and I was angry about the winner of best original song, and the fact that they didn't get to perform the pieces on stage at the Oscars. Sandra Bullock won for best actress, which was well-deserved. Bullock is the first actress to have ever accepted (in person) a Razzie for worst performance, and an Oscar for best performance in the same weekend. At the Razzies, Bullock brought a wagon full of DVD copies of her "worst" film, All About Steve. This is what I love about Bullock, she doesn't mind poking fun, even in her acceptance speech, she joked about her sensual relationship with Meryl Streep. Mo'Nique won best Supporting actress, and probably still didn't shave her legs...

It was interesting to see Kathryn Bigelow become the first female to win the Directing award. Her film Hurt Locker also picked up the golden man for Best Picture, much to ex-husband James Cameron's dismay. I guess he's no longer "King of the World" (but his 3 Billion dollar grossing film is a consolation, I'm sure...)

The best part of the Oscars was without a doubt when Ben Stiller came out onstage, dressed as a Navi to give the award for best makeup. Ironically, Avatar wasn't nominated.

The show ran a lengthy three and a half hours, and the end (which is the most important part of the show) felt rushed and hyper. I would have liked to see more emphasis on the awards that count (best actors, director and picture - we didn't even get reminded of the nominees!)

I hope that next year, the producers can pull off a classier, more entertaining show. This felt dated but not even nostalgic. I could have done without all the nazi jokes and painful introductions...

Now I need to see the Hurt Locker to see what all the fuss is about!