Oscar Wrap-Up

Peter Jackson takes home the gold on Oscar Night

Eric:

Billy Crystal did his usual fine job of hosting. He seems to be as big a movie fan as those of us watching. His joke that there "is no one left in New Zealand to thank," after Return of the King won several awards, was one of his best. Politically he walked the balance beam. At one point he joked that his coming and going when he wants from hosting duties is like being in the Texas National guard. An obvious slam on Bush. However, his opening spoof of the nominated movies had conservatives roaring with laughter. Self righteous liberal activist Michael Moore got trampled after telling the Hobbits that they are fighting a fictitious war.

Some Oscar winners were blatantly one sided. Best actor winner Sean Penn began his acceptance speech "If theres one thing actors know, other than there weren't any WMDs...." The guy who won for best Documentary, for Fog of War, referred to the countries current state as "Going down a rabbit hole." I have no idea what the hell he was talking about, but I don't think he was giving anyone a compliment. These kind of politically liberal hit and run comments are expected and all quite normal for the Oscars.

What the Oscars do best is pay tribute to themselves. The tribute to Katherine Hepburn was one of the best ever done in such a short amount of time. Julia Roberts had the audience laughing with stories of the great Kate. The film clips, shown in chronological order, demonstrated that Hepburn only got better with age. The scene they showed from The Lion in Winter is one of Hepburn's all time best.

Patrick:

The word I would use is bland. Where were the outrageous outfits and inappropriate controversial remarks? Hell, I don't even think anyone exceeded the allotted time limit for an acceptance speech. And there wasn't a single major upset. Yes, Billy Crystal was amusing and yes the tributes to Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn and Gregory Peck were all quite touching. Still I don't think there will be a single moment from the 76th Academy Awards that will be remembered or talked about in the years to come.

The story of the night, of course, was The Lord of the Rings. After losing the Best Picture category for the two previous installments in the trilogy, The Return of the King finally proved triumphant. So let's take a look at its place in Oscar history. Return of the King sets a new record for the biggest clean-sweep, winning all 11 of its nominated categories. The previous record was a tie between 1958's Gigi and 1987's The Last Emperor, both of which won 9 out of 9. King is now in a 3-way tie for the most Oscar wins for any motion picture with Ben-Hur and Titanic (which, by the way, is in a tie with All About Eve for the most nominations, 14). Return of the King is the 43rd movie in the Academy's history to receive 11 or more nominations but it is the very first movie to win them all.

Next year I hope for a more exciting and surprising Oscar show.

Scott:

The one thing that was barely commented upon during the awards was the fact of the 5-second delay. I think the wake left by Janet’s breast is going to be shows where celebrities take less risks, as was the case of this year’s Academy Awards, although it was actually quite nice for once not to have an inappropriate, politically laced, acceptance speech. Whether I agree with a celebrities’ politics or not, I think Jane Fonda summed it up best in her acceptance speech at the 44th Academy Awards for Best Actress in Klute when she said, "There’s a lot to talk about, but now is not the place."

That said, like Patrick, I found the show a little dull. Last year Adrian Brody kissed Halle. Who can forget Roberto Benigni’s exuberant outburst in 1999? Where were the "You like me, you really like me!" speeches of yester-year? Even Hollywood’s bad boy, Sean Penn only managed a weak little out-of-place "WMD" comment.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the show. Like Eric, I find any year where Billy Crystal hosts to be better just by his presence. His opening montage and song medley are always a highlight. And I am so thankful that at last a Sci-Fi/Fantasy movie proved that it could win a Best Picture Academy Award.