Oscars 2012: Thoughts and Feelings, and Growing Impatience

Let me just get this out of the way before I go into the broadcast: if you have so many problems with the Academy Awards, if you hate Billy Crystal and his jokes, if nothing is funny to you, if every choice they make is the wrong choice, if the films winning the awards have all of a sudden become the worst films of the year, stay off twitter and stay off the broadcast.  The incessant bitching and moaning about every little detail of every second has gotten out of hand.  Sure, some things were executed poorly and a few things weren't that funny, but according the twitter the Oscars should be canceled.  Except, all of the people constantly bitching will be discussing the Oscars next year, they will lobby for their favorite films to be noinated, then when the nominations come out they will promptly explain how the Oscars don't really matter and they are a waste of time.  A waste of time these same people have been wasting the last three months. 

If you have hated The Artist all along, then that is quite alright.  But if you hated The Artist once it became the frontrunner for Best Picture, you are a complete asshole.  And, once again, all of the people complaining non stop about Billy Crystal's routine must have already forgotten the disaster that was James Franco and Anne Hathaway last year.  Crystal was fine, he was the Oscar host not a Presidential candidate.  Relax.

And another thing, let's all stop griping about the montages.  The Academy Awards are here to celebrate films.  The celebration of the films may be even more important than the awards being handed out.  Embrace the montages and stop throwing a fit about something as harmless as a few film clips on a night where films are being recognized.  And by the way, Mr. Patton Oswalt, don't go on your twitter feed to ridicule the montages and the skits if you recorded a piece to be played later on that night... in a montage!  There are things to point out that didn't end up working, but the complaining non stop about each and every little detail has gotten out of hand.  The only thing which warranted real complaints was the awful microphone feedback that was never corrected.  Absurd.

A few thoughts on the show:

* Before the show Sacha Baron Cohen appeared on E! as The Dictator, his new film character, and poured an urn of ashes all over Ryan Seacrest.  There is a time and a place for things, but the prank wasn't funny, was ill-conceived, and it was a bad idea from Cohen.  He should have been there celebrating Hugo, not making it about him.

* And really, why does everyone hate Ryan Seacrest?  I have never understood that.

* I don't think the Robert Downey Jr. bit with Gwyneth Paltrow worked as well as they wanted.  Paltrow doesn't have the right comedic timing.

* Emma Stone was quite funny when she presented with Ben Stiller, who played it straight perfectly.  Best presenters of the night.

* From twitter last night: "When did Will Ferrell get invited to the Oscars?"  Well, I'm pretty sure he's been there at least three other times.  My oh my how the negative Nancy's forget the past when it's inconvenient for their aimless point.

* Hugo started off on fire and fizzed out, but I am pleased with the five technical awards it won.  It's easily the most beautiful picture of the year.  I would have liked a split between director and picture with Scorsese getting his second statue.  It's amazing to me how in love the Academy is with Scorsese's films but can't manage to reward him personally.

* Although I was pulling for Brad Pitt, Jean Dujardin was more than solid in The Artist.

* Meryl Streep was a bit of a surprise, as odd as that sounds.

* Speech of the night: Christopher Plummer.

* It's a shame that Moneyball was shut out all night.  I was hoping The Descendants would be the big film to get shut out, but it stole the Adapted Screenplay from Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian's Moneyball script.

* The Cirque De Soleil bit was a little odd.

* Now it's time to move on, forget about the Oscars for a few months until Awards Season fires up once again.  Then we can go through the bitching and moaning another year.  It's a shame so many film fans cannot embrace the night for what it is, a celebration of movies.  My favorite film of the year wasn't even nominated.  Just because The Artist won the big award doesn't mean it has to now be your personal favorite.  I still enjoy Oscar night every year.  Get over yourselves.