Oscar Recap

Well now that I've had a few days to gain some perspective on the latest Academy Awards show, I thought I would give my own awards highlighting the various moments of Oscar Sunday. Like always they ranged from the funny, to the somber, to the surreal. So without further ado:

Funniest Moment of the Night Award: Hands down Melissa Leo dropping the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. Mike has already written about the look of pure genuine shock on her face when she won, and how the utterance while shocking, was genuine. I share his sentiments completely. It's nice to know that there are still some "real" people in Hollywood. My runner up goes to the intro, especially where Morgan Freeman was narrating Alec Baldwin's dreams. Hilarious.

Strangest/Most Awkward Moment of the Night Award: I have to give this to Kirk Douglas's presentation of the award for Best Supporting Actress. Look even at 94 the guy is obviously still very keen. However, the strokes he's suffered have made public appearances at best difficult and at worst embarrassing. His presentation was embarrassing. I'd prefer to remember Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, not some doddering old man with a cane. My friend Luke nailed it when he posted on Facebook, "Kirk Douglas: Best award presentation by a dead man ever." The Academy should be ashamed of themselves.

Best Speech Award: This one is a tie. I thought Christian Bale's speech was extremely moving especially the part where he thanked his wife and child. He even poked fun at himself, claiming that he wouldn't use the F-bomb like his co-star Leo because he's gotten in trouble before. (FYI--For those of you not in the know, this was a veiled reference to the audio tapes that were leaked a little over a year ago where Bale verbally chastises a worker on the set of Terminator Salvation. Too bad it wasn't the director McG for making the film in the first place.) The only thing about the speech I didn't like was where he plugged Dicky Ecklund's website.

The other best speech was Natalie Portman's when she accepted the Best Actress award for Black Swan. I was so ecstatic to see her win over Annette Benning. In any case her speech was simple, heartfelt, and direct, as she thanked her mother, father, and fiance.

Worst Speech of the Night Award: Colin Firth. Yawn. Could the guy get anymore British? He was so somber it was ridiculous. Colin you didn't have to hold your joy in. It would have been fine if you danced uncontrollably. You didn't have to wait until you got backstage.

Best Presenter Award: Jeff Bridges. The man is quite simply "The Dude." He was so slick and confident when he introduced the nominees for Best Actress it was like he wasn't even reading off the teleprompter. His charm and wit was as dead on as Rooster Cogburn's handgun.

Worst Presenter Award: Sandra Bullock. I seriously was looking for the trail of frost as she walked out onto the stage. Could she have looked or acted any more like a cold hearted bitch than when she was presenting the award for Best Actor? What compounded this debacle was Bullock's sad attempt to copy Bridges's stunning presentation. It fell flatter than Hillary Swank's chest. (Oooh even I thought that was harsh.)

Biggest Rip Off of the Night Award: Forget about The King's Speech winning over The Social Network. That's a given. Again it is a tie here, what I might consider 1a and 1b.

1a was Tom Hooper winning Best Director over David Fincher. Not only was it the upset of the night it was completely undeserved. Fincher is by far the better director and easily outdid Hooper with his work on The Social Network. While Fincher already has great films to his credit (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac to name a few) The Social Network was his masterpiece. Yet somehow it wasn't good enough for the Academy. They decided to give it to a relatively unknown British director for his second feature film. Bold prediction: next year Fincher wins Best Director for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

1b The dictionary defines the word "original" as "new; fresh; inventive; or novel." None of these things seemed to apply when the Academy awarded best original screenplay to David Seidler for The King's Speech. Seriously? A historical drama about a monarch overcoming odds to lead his people during a dark hour? Look at some of the key words in that last sentence and tell me what exactly makes The King's Speech screenplay in any way original. Inception was without question the most unique and original movie of 2010 and the award should have gone to Christopher Nolan.

Most Infuriating and Disrespectful Moment of the Night Award: I always like watching the "In Memoriam" section of the Oscars that pays tribute to members of the movie industry who have died. Usually it is very moving and one of the few somber moments of the Oscars. You can imagine my irritation when Corey Haim was not there. Now listen I know Corey Haim was no Adrian Brody but he starred in some classic 80s movies like Lucas, Silver Bullet, and my favorite Haim film The Lost Boys. He deserved to be included in that presentation. Yet somehow the Academy managed to leave him off and still have an agent listed. Can someone explain the logic of that to me?

Best Moment of the Night Award: Billy Crystal. That guy is the quintessential Oscar host and if the standing ovation he received was any further indication that he needs to be the Oscar host every year I don't know what is. Although he hasn't hosted the Oscars since 2004 hopefully the Academy will wise up and bring him back next year.

Worst Moment of the Night Award: The hosts. What makes this award the most egregious is that the moment lasted all night long. It was painful to watch James Franco and Anne Hathaway host the Oscars. Hathaway seemed out of her element and unsure of herself. On the other hand at least she displayed some personality. James Franco however was stiffer than Richard Simmons at a male beach volleyball tournament in Malibu. He looked like he could care less whether he was there or not. The Academy's experiment was an epic failure.