Oscars 2010: Some Thoughts

The Oscars are usually a triumphant day for Hollywood, when stars more numerous than those in the sky come out to honor each other's work. But this year the Oscars, well, sucked.

The hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, both comedians in the waning days of their careers, were bone dry. Their jokes weren't funny. The opening skit was horrendous, and consisted basically of pointing out the famous faces in the first few rows and making a really lame, flat joke about their career. Don't get me started on the sitcom-y Paranormal Activity skit.

This was really an excruciating four hour Meryl Streep love fest. She got effusive praise from everyone, in the form of lame jokes, to a bizarrely awkward and somewhat believable mention of kissing by Sandra Bullock. The camera would cut to Meryl, who gave her best acting laugh, head cocked back, eye gleaming with contrived humor.

Why, why, why was Kathy Bates shown every three seconds in the telecast? It seemed like every time someone did or said something, the camera would immediately cut to Kathy Bates. I have nothing against it, it was just awkward.

Gabby Sidibe of Precious didn't win, but at least Oprah's praise was warm and generous, like the graciousness of Mo'nique, who, if anybody, deserved an Oscar that night. Poor Jim Cameron had to endure mindless Avatar jokes, while sitting next to his skeletal wife, and behind his terrified former wife, whose fear stricken acceptance speeches were nerve racking to watch. George Clooney's attitude could be felt through the screen, as the camera zoomed in on his angry, evil glare (go home if you are unhappy). "Humble" Jeff Bridges is a tried-and-true actor, but he was too nice, and sometimes things so sweet can be so sour. Sandra Bullock winning for The Blind Side? Even she acknowledged that there were more deserving candidates. And what about the poor director of Music for Prudence: his speech time was hijacked by some crazed woman, a la Kanye West and Taylor Swift. And lastly the Hurt Locker just about swept everything, but at least Up got the Oscar it deserved.

The presenters were uneven. Kristen Stewart, in a drug induced stupor no doubt, coughed in the middle of her delivery, while Miley Cyrus (almost endearingly if I say) showed her nervousness, which humanized her. J Lo and Sam Worthington presented together, which was a highlight of the evening, but during all the Avatar jokes, the expressions on Zoe Saldana's and Sigourney Weaver's faces told everything about their irritation. Then Tom Hanks rushed on stage and hurriedly read off the winner of Best Picture.

Overall, this year was as boring as the set design: a few lamps strung together on stage.