Last night I gave up on the Oscar telecast and went to bed early to read. Why was an old novel plucked from the public domain more intriguing than I program I once insisted I be let out of the hospital early to see? I’ve turned that question over in my mind for years, and, judging from the bloated telecasts we’ve been seeing, so have the telecast’s creators.
All anyone has to do is look at last night’s program.
After years of hard and mostly thankless toiling, a person’s dream comes true. Last night that person was Spoiler Alert from the film Spoiler Alert. Overcome with emotion, she was helped to the stage where she trembled and fought tears as she tried desperately to find the words for this life experience. Unlike childbirth, weddings, funerals, job promotions and huge sales on designer name brand fashions, winning an Oscar is a truly
rare experience. It doesn’t happen to many people. The winning actress was still overcome with emotion and trying to express deep gratitude when the band played on. Christian Bale had to help her from the stage as she trembled and stepped gingerly away from the biggest moment in her career and perhaps her life.
There were a few more wins with aborted speeches scattered between movie montages, out of place skits, tired jokes and stilted banter. Then Cirque du Soleil was given a huge chunk of time for their schtick where people jumped over each other and twirled around on wires.
That right there is the problem.
We in the audience tune in for the Real. What is she wearing? Who is his date? What is it like to have every dream you ever dreamed turn sparklingly real at the opening of an envelope? That’s the best reality show in the world.
And they cut it off to show vaudeville shtick we could rent at Redbox.
I’ll agree with you about this particular instance. Most of the cutoffs seemed very unfair.
However, it’s probably important to remember why the awards shows went to the timed speeches in the first place.
Not only were they all running over, but more importantly, ratings were down, and trending down. I have no doubt the focus groups from the time showed that fans didn’t like overly long, and sometimes sanctimoniously political acceptance speeches.
They don’t do these things just for the heck of it.
That being said, Cirque and interview montages seemed incredibly out of place.
I may be the only person of earth who thinks this way, but I liked Billy Crystal. The problem with ‘edgy’, as everyone seems to be clamoring for, is that it is. by definition, on the edge of public sensibilities. Great for an indie film or FX, awful for a mass market television production.
I vote for Ellen Degeneres next year – not really edgy either, but darned funny and a natural for this sort of thing.
And Brian Grazer has to go.
I agree and I disagree. I quit watching the Oscars for a few years because I didn’t want to hear what Michael Moore had to say about the country or what this or that political actor had to say about the war, etc. People don’t watch fluff stuff like this for that.
But I honestly think that the people working and winning now understand that full well. And I also think that a show’s producer could quite easily say “stay away from these topics in your speech or we will cut your mike.”
Billy Crystal lost me when he made the fat joke at Jonah Hill. I don’t need that kind of bigotry in entertainment. He also lost me by having whatever the heck he’s had done to the top of his face. Eyelift or botox, either way it killed his eyes dead and made him completely unconnectable to me as an audience member. I think Ellen Degeneres would be a great fit. A lot of people are rooting for Tina Fey but I am not one of her biggest fans anymore. I think she’d bring a little bit too much of the smug.
And yes, above all else Brian Grazer has to go.