The 81st Annual Academy Awards is already becoming a distant memory, but I live-blogged the entire show (including red carpet — hey, maybe I deserve an award!), and have a few things to say about it:
Loved Hugh Jackman as host. It’s just not right that someone so good-looking is not only a great actor, but can also sing and dance and tell jokes. My live-bloggers and I all agreed that we wanted more Hugh Jackman numbers. In fact, Hugh Jackman should also be in every movie that comes out.
Mostly loved the fashions. Just about all of the dresses were either very nice or flat-out fabulous. Standouts for me were Kate Winslet and Natalie Portman, but you could put those girls in a potato sack and they’d still look lovely. The only one I really didn’t like was Jessica Biel. As one of the live-bloggers said, it looked like she forgot to take her dinner napkin off after she got done eating.
Heath Ledger’s family is downright classy. Their heartfelt speech was a highlight of the show, and you can tell it came straight from their heart. It couldn’t have been easy for them to get up there, but it was just so beautiful, and everyone in the audience was weepy by the end of it. Although it was a little funny when Bill Maher came out afterward and said, “Oh sure, now everyone’s crying and I have to go on.”
Gathering the old-timey actors was brilliant. Best part of the show hands-down was gathering an impressive array of actors to present the nominees for best actor, best actress, etc. It was not only stunning to see them on stage together, but their speeches to the nominees were truly a gift — for both the nominees and for us.
Could those Slumdog kids have been any cuter? Seeing those kids and everyone who worked on Slumdog Millionaire brought the Academy Awards back to where it should be: celebrating great movies. So often, it seems like a popularity contest, but when a little movie does really well, you get the feeling it really IS about making great films.
Other thoughts:
– So sweet when Kate Winslet asked her dad to whistle so she knew where he was.
– I wish Mickey Rourke would have won for Best Actor, but Sean Penn is a fine actor. But did he thank his wife? If not, he should have. She’s a saint.
– Anne Hathaway has a pretty nice voice. She and Hugh Jackman should do a romantic comedy together.
– Sophia Loren presenting to Meryl Streep — talk about your Hollywood royalty!
– Really nice to see Jerry Lewis. And he looks great, too.
– Rob Pattinson always seems to be brooding, no matter what.
– The Oscars were supposed to be toned down this year, but I didn’t really get that feeling watching the red carpet and ceremony (although Hugh Jackman’s opening number was pretty funny).
– I miss Paul Newman.
What about you? Did you watch the Oscars? What did you think?
Clacked by Jane Boursaw 
on Feb 23, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
I agree with so much here. My officemate reminds me how beautiful Queen Latifah’s voice was last night as she sang to the “In Memoriam” montage.
The most memorable part of last night’s Oscars for me was the production design. Gorgeous stage, nice new direction for the music, and the way they presented supporting and lead actors/actresses was evocative and gorgeous.
I agree with you on Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger’s family, the “old-timey actors”, Mickey Rourke and the fashion. My favorite was Marisa Tomei’s dress – it was gorgeous and she was beautiful in it.
My gripe was with the “In Memoriam”, as it is every year. Why, oh, why can’t they show the clips full screen, with some tasteful orchestral music and drop the nat sound of the audience applause? It annoys me every year. I may not agree with Charleton Heston’s politics, but the man was a fine actor and the lack of applause for him was as jarring as the full applause & cheers were for some of the others. Let me remember those who have touched my heart and entertained me without the background popularity applause meter.
Benson… I completely and totally agree!!!