A STUTTERING KING, A PSYCHO BALLERINA, AND A FIGHTER’S FAMILY TOP OSCARS

It is now the morning after the night before and most of Hollywood is probably waking up with a hangover. The gowns are hanging in the closet or hung over a chair, the jewels are tucked away, the upswept hair-dos brushed out, and newly crowned stars are staring in disbelief at a little golden man.

I was pretty accurate in my predictions. I successfully predicted that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman would win Best Actor and Actress. I also called the Best Supporting Actor race with Christian Bale winning. Also, my favorite movie topped the list with The Kings Speech winning the honor of Best Movie. The only category I missed was for Best Supporting Actress. I should have gone with the majority of the critics who said Melissa Leo had the lead in that category.  

The hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco, were young and hip, as they pointed out in their introductory remarks, and designed to appeal to a younger demographic—also expressed in their dialogue. Anne was beautiful, energetic, and enthusiastic and kept the evening moving with her youthful exuberance. Sorry I can’t say the same about James Franco. Just standing there looking gorgeous isn’t enough. He could have been more animated to match Hathaway’s energy level. Their promo spots looked promising but nerves must have gotten the better of Franco (or the fact he lost in the Best Actor category).

A bit of old Hollywood was represented by Kirk Douglas who relished the spotlight and the audience loved it. Also, more in the traditional vein was the appearance of Billy Crystal. The audience broke out in a spontaneous applause showing their respect for the eight-time Oscar host.

Everyone was beautifully and appropriately attired for the evening. There weren’t any real disasters. Even Helena Bonham Carter was, in her own way, elegant but funky. You have to hand it to her for being true to her style. Russell Brand was the only one on the edge of good taste wearing a plaid (subtle but still plaid) shirt with his tux and very tight pants. There were so many beautiful dresses it is hard to pick a favorite. As Whoopie pointed out today on The View, no one wants to be raked over the coals for their choice so more are going with a stylist.

In my opinion, what stole the show was the stage. It was decked out with crystals and the back drop was capable of showing scenes and special effects in a multi-dimensional way. I miss the large production numbers for best song and soundtrack nominations. That was always a highlight to me.

However, I loved this year’s ending with the YouTube sensation kids from New York PS22 singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with all the evening’s winners coming back on stage for an encore bow. Hollywood is a town of dreams and make-believe and for one night once a year a very special few get to have their dreams come true.

Related Articles

• Oscars Bomb: James Franco Looks High, Anne Hathaway Overcompensates (foxnews.com)
• Oscar Reviews: What the Critics Thought About James Franco, Anne Hathaway – Hollywood Reporter (news.google.com)
• Hathaway bright-eyed, Franco bored during Oscar show (ctv.ca)
• The Oscars 2011: James Franco & Anne Hathaway Opening Performance (huffingtonpost.com)
• Franco, Hathaway fail to wow as Oscar hosts (omg.yahoo.com)