Oscar Wrap

Can I predict ‘em, or what?  Actually there were two big surprises at the Oscars this year: Dragon Tattoo’s win for best editing (well deserved) and Meryl Streep’s Best Actress score.  Everyone’s talking about Meryl this morning, and why not, as recently as Friday the odds of picking up a trophy were trending against her.  But the Actors Branch of the Academy, which seemed, after the SAG awards, determined to make The Help cast its fave, either mellowed towards Streep or was outvoted by the other Branches, because there she was, accepting the award with all the charm and presence we would expect from our most celebrated actress.  


The return of Billy Crystal in the hosting role was pleasant, but not invigorating; Billy did what Billy does.  There were some entertaining moments – Christopher Guest’s focus group, Emma Stone’s funny and charming bit where she attempted to find ways to extend her time on stage as a presenter.  (Ben Stiller made a perfect foil.)  Angelina Jolie’s apparent effort to strike a “sexy pose” by thrusting her leg through a thigh high slit in her Versace dress wasn’t so appealing.  It’s hard to guess what the actress had in mind when she did that – reminding the crowd that she’s still the good time gal who made headlines in the nineties?  Trying to divert the spotlight from her life partner? Just trying to divert the spotlight?  Jolie seems to want to be taken seriously – she just wrote and directed a film about the Bosnian war – but this stunt might indicate that the 37 year old is not ready to grow up.  Fortunately, her little move was counter balanced by the Descendants writing team when they picked up their award; two of the three men struck the same pose as Angelina.  That was funny.


All in all, the 84th Academy Awards were not memorable.  Of the nine films nominated, only one (The Help) qualified as a hit, and hardly anyone has seen Best Picture winner The Artist.  Ratings were down, due to awards season fatigue, and general lack of interest.  Seems like the old white dudes who are responsible for Oscar Outcomes have lost step with America; maybe they should pay attention to the underlying message of last night’s show, and get out occasionally to see a movie.