The Oscars 2011

The Oscars 2011!


I honestly don't know how much I can comment on this. I must be honest: I've not seen a lot of this past years nominated movies. It was a bit of a stay at home year in our household with a new kid and some work issues. In fact, one of the nominated movies I saw because we took our daughter to see it and have subsequently seen it about 5,202 times since she got it for Christmas on DVD.

I'm looking at you Woody and Buzz.

  

The other best picture nominee I saw was Inception, which I loved to pieces, but realized was not the kind of movie that wins Best Picture at the Oscars.

So as far as the nominated and the winners, I cannot say too much. My lack of info on these subjects is truly depressing.  I do know I thought that The Social Network would get more love, but there was a point in the show you just realized The King's Speech was gonna tear it up. I haven't seen the movie but there's no doubt these guys looked at the blueprints on how to win an Oscar and followed it to a "T".

What I can comment on is the presentation, which seems to be getting a lot of crap dumped at it's feet. I'm not sure it deserves all the bile being hurled its way, but it was definitely not the greatest ceremony to ever feature the little gold naked dude.

Let us start with the hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I know Anne Hathaway annoyed some viewers, but at least she showed some energy and seemed like she was interested in the proceedings. Franco, on the other hand, spent most of the time standing stiffly by her side staring off somewhere just off center with a strained smile plastered on his face.

Most of all, I think the duo was let down by the writing. There are some hosts, the type of hosts the Oscars usually get; your Steve Martins, your Billy Crystals, who have a background in performing comedy in front of live audiences and probably help come up with their own material and are able to make it work and flow a lot more naturally. When you get a couple of young actors who don't appear to have such a background, I think it's unfair to expect them to do anything other than keep the show moving. The bits come off more stiff and unnatural and definitely fall flat.

That being said, I think the biggest problem with the Oscars this year was that they were flat out trying to go young. From the hosts to the presenters, there is no doubt they were reaching for that demographic. I'm sorry Oscar, your demographic is not the hip Jersey Shore generation, it spans the generations of movie fans. Specifically movie fans that see the kind of movies that win Oscars. I have a hard time believing many Justin Timberlake fans went out of their way to see The King's Speech or even know what the heck Winter's Bone is, except for the fact that the Wayne's World guys found the title hilarious.

Let's forget young, hip and edgy. You're the Oscars, not the MTV movie awards. Act like it. When the highlight of your show is Billy Crystal introducing the digital ghost of Bob Hope to introduce the effortlessly funny duo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, that should tell you something. Give the keys to the thing back to Crystal or Steve Martin, or heck, even Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Because if I find out Justin Bieber is hosting this thing next year, I'm out.