And the Oscar Goes to ...

There was a time, before children, when I had seen every movie nominated for Best Picture, nearly all the movies nominated for Best Actor, Actress, and Director, and many of the other nominated films.

This year I've seen only 1 of the Best Picture nominations (Slumdog Millionaire) and all 3 of the Best Animated Feature movies. That about sums it up.

I still get away for a few movies now and then and a few of those have nominations: The Wrestler, The Dark Knight, and Tropic Thunder (what the...). Other movies on the list that I’ve seen are Iron Man and Wanted, but technical nominations don't really count.

So even though I am behind on my movies these days, I watched the Oscars - with Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman hosting, a live performance of Jai Ho and hopefully a speech by Mickey Rourke, I wouldn't miss it!

The Set
I loved the set. The stage and seating had a rather intimate feel - the presentation podium was right in the crowd. If you are going to put Brangelina on the front row, you may as well stand Jennifer Aniston only 6 feet from them! This year the sets were actually part of the presentation. Each one changed with the category of awards and related specifically to the category. A clever and artistic idea that worked.

The Host
Hugh Jackman is awfully excited that "the musical is back!" (but do NOT call him gay, his wife will get pissed). I kid. Overall I thought he did a good job, and seemed perhaps underused. His opening number was very good. I also liked his "musicals are back!" song and dance and feel affirmed that Wolverine also likes musicals (cuz, hey, I admit I loved Mamma Mia). Other than the opening and the dance number, I can’t remember anything Hugh did. Perhaps that’s a good host. But it seems he disappeared for long periods of time. I liked Will Smith’s joke that "Hugh is napping somewhere." So my review on Hugh hosting is mixed, though I attribute any poor marks more to him disappearing than anything he did.

The Presentations
The Actor awards this year were presented in the most personal manner that could have been imagined. I loved it. Each nominee was personally introduced by a past winner, and with the stage set-up the people were within feet of each other. More than any other award show, it seemed to actually honor the nominees and not just the winner. Cuba Gooding Jr.’s intro of Robert Downey Jr. was funny. Shirley Maclaine’s intro of Anne Hathaway seemed heartfelt. Overall, a good piece of the evening.

A few presenters were genuinely funny. Tina Fey and Steve Martin were naturals together and had funny material. I enjoyed the Seth Rogan and James Franco bit, but when they added Janusz Kaminski it was hilarious. Seth cracking up at James Franco mangling the winner’s name was so inappropriate and yet so funny. Ben Stiller tried an impression of Joaquin Phoenix and I was with it for awhile, but it went on too long.

The Political Theme of the Night
The Oscars tend to have a political theme most years. Without Bush to kick around, I wasn’t sure what the theme would be this year but it became obvious quickly: Gay and Lesbian Rights. The orginal screenplay winner was Dustin Lance Black for Milk and I found his acceptance speech moving. Sean Penn tried the "shame on you" tactic, but I believe Dustin’s approach will move far more people than copying the church’s usual tactic of shame. But I digress.

What They Wore
Not much to talk about with wardrobe this year. There was no Bjork Swan Disaster, but no one seemed to dazzle either. I’m not sure what Philip Seymour Hoffman was wearing on his head, but it looked like a stocking cap and I thought that a poor choice. My quick pick for worst dressed was Tilda Swinton. If you are going to wear a dress that looks like a bag, you should at least pick a color other than the exact shade of your skin.

Musical Performances
I was highly disappointed in the performances of the 3 nominated original songs. I correctly predicted the winner a couple weeks ago, and maybe I expected too much in its performance. All the right elements were there: the artists, the drummers, the dancers, moving through the crowd, etc. But it seemed flat, uninspiring and the sound through the television was very poor. I’m a John Legend fan, and even his song just seemed off.

The Winners
Mickey Rourke was robbed. When the self-centered Sean Penn gives you a nod in his speech, I think you know you were robbed. Okay, I haven’t seen Milk so I can’t say for sure, but I was shocked that Mickey didn’t get the win. In The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke gave what I would call a complete performance. I’m pretty sure Mickey is in every scene of the movie, he portrays nearly every basic human emotion in a realistic and consistent way, and created a complex character of someone you genuinely like and root for even as he destroys himself with his inability to pull away from his self-destructive choices. I am disappointed he didn’t win. I was going to see Milk anyway, and when I do Sean better be good!

Heath Ledger winning Best Supporting Actor was such a forgone conclusion that they left him out of the In Memoriam montage. It was a sad occasion and I believe he would have had a good shot at winning even without his death.

Slumdog Millionaire won the most Oscars and that seemed appropriate to me. If you’ve seen the movie, the sight of those children actors onstage at the final award was a great moment.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won so many awards that I am, well, curious because that movie just looks strange to me. I look forward to seeing the movie.

Quote of the Night
"Suck on that, Anthony Dod Mantle!" - by Janusz Kaminski, the first cinematographer to ever present an Oscar to the cinematographer that had just won an Oscar.

"You are beautiful, wonderful creatures that have value. And no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you." - Dustin Lance Black speaking to gays and lesbians. Sincere words of love are always powerful.