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The Oscars as TV
This is strictly opinion about the Academy Awards broadcast on ABC - not the pre- or post- shows. This isn't about who won and the merits of their winning, this is just about the nearly 4 hours of TV that was on. The Oscars are a marathon, no doubt about it, and a slow marathon at that. Most able bodied people should be able to do a marathon in about 4 hours with just a few months training which is why I have a problem with the Oscars: it's too damn long, it needs to pop some TrimSpa pills, buckle down, and drop some weight.
This year didn't start well with its opening montage of nominees and it set the tone for overly long video clips, a couple of which seemed to recreate the entire history of the medium - they're both uninformative and unnecessary and just prolong the agony of watching Hollywood congratulate itself.
Mimes doing shadowplay - 'nuff said. What, Mummenschanz wasn't available?
The music - truly awful as usual. Everyone knows that a mediocre flick can be turned into a laughable nightmare as soon as the grandiose score builds and builds and builds and drowns out anything redeemable. The orchestration at the Oscars thrives on the principle of smarmy, John Williams-esque crescendos: knock it off. And seriously, Celine Dion singing a tribute to Ennio Morricone was one of the most painfully incongruous moments on television in years. Being a hater of the kind of music featured in Dreamgirls as well as Melissa Etheridge's entire catalog made an already overwrought segment of the show just that much worse. Thanks Academy, for your pathetic nominations in this category.
More after the jump....
The hosting always deserves respect. Ellen DeGeneres was admirably competent - you have to have pity on the sacrificial lambs they put on the stage to deal with this behemoth of a program. Never will I criticize who they put up there, they are an unfortunate victim.
Since there is an aspect of unpredictability to the Oscars one might forgive the bad cuts, strange camera movements, and the bizarre jumps to commercials but this is because we have lost the ability to broadcast live television competently. The Oscars are done every year along with about a dozen other movie awards shows but the Oscars as apex continues to perform poorly with some of the basic mechanics. Sadly there were no streakers this year, something that I thought Jack Black might go for, but now he's a "serious" actor which is a shame.
If you're as unhappy with some of the winners as I was, we have only the Academy to blame as they put the nominees forward. The Academy is now morphing into a Baby-Boomer-dominated organization (as the Sinatra-era generation dies off) so get ready for more self-indulgence and hypocrisy in the upcoming years. I'm all about self-indulgence, just hold the hypocrisy.
If you made it all the way through, congratulate yourself, drink a few Grey Goose Gatorades and don't think about next year.
Cameron Diaz arrivesf or the 79th Academy Awards via AP
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Dude, dont watch the damn thing if it's that painful for you. Be fair to yourself and turn off the TV and live a happier life.
you don't understand, I _have_ to watch TV, I _have_ to.
As soon as the author wrote that he hated the song nominations because he personally disliked the STYLE of music nominated, his argument immediately lost credibility. That bit is proof that this article was not written by a professional journalist, hence making it just extra trash in cyberspace.
so true SI1 or whatever you are, I wrote that this was opinion.