I do not fault Neil Patrick Harris, the host. I thought his opening song and dance number was top notch. It reflected on how much we as a culture love the movies. I thought it was ironic that the song celebrated movies that are supposed to be the most beloved of all time, and very few of them won Best Picture Oscars. If the Academy Awards is supposed to honor the truly best in cinema (forgive me for not being cynical), then this song highlighted how wrong the Academy has been for so many years.
So here are some of my general thoughts:
WINNERS
The big winners were not only the makers of Birdman, but also Wes Anderson. No, he didn't win the Oscar for best director, but his Grand Budapest Hotel cleaned up a bunch of undeserved awards. The Academy loves him. I'm not sure why. I can't say that I've ever seen a movie of his that was good.
LOSERS
The audience.
There was really nothing to root for except for American Sniper. I base this not on the merits of the movie, but on popularity. Most of the movie-watching population had not seen most of the movies nominated. I think that if this happens next year, I will skip. It's just too boring.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES
I understand the appeal of having a microphone that is connected to billions across the world. If you ever want to feel important, you could use this moment for an "important" message. And that is what I heard on Oscar night. Best speech of the night went to JK Simmons. It was straightforward and touching. And his "big message" was something that reminds us of the importance of family. The worst, though, was Patricia Arquette who made a big plea for income equality, which is something that already exists. That's like demanding that women have the right to vote. Nobody is arguing against this, but if you don't applaud you look like a sexist.
STRANGEST MOMENT
John Travolta touching Idina Menzel's face.
Just. Stop.
THE SOUND OF GAGA
I was horrified that Lady Gaga was singing The Sound of Music. Then I was surprised to find that she actually sounded very good. And then I realized that in an already interminably long telecast, they added a 10 minute interlude about The Sound of Music. And while I love the movie, cuts need to be made.
OVERALL
The Oscars are slipping into irrelevancy. This is something that could easily be turned around if they simply brought in more of a populist appeal. Give us something to root for. We don't mind if smaller independent movies like As Good As It Gets and Good Will Hunting win if the greatness of Titanic is also recognized. It's okay that Shawshank Redemption loses as long it is against Forrest Gump.
But we'll see.
Below are my Live Tweets from that night.
Birdman wins and I get to got to bed #Oscars2015
Matthew looks like he's getting ready to film Cast Away 2 #Oscars2015
Redmayne did a great job in a terrible movie #Oscars2015
Oprah is doing a great Oprah impression #Oscars2015
Makes sense production design award. Interstellar had mind-blowing space opera. Grand Budapest Hotel had... A hotel #Oscars2015
And now we have Gamora and Black Adam #Oscars2015
Darn it, I actually did see Feast and I forgot to put it into my Oscar game answer #Oscars2015
Interstellar was awesome and should have been nominated for much more than the technical #Oscars2015
I'm glad wage equality got a standing ovation. It's brave to applaud something that already exists, isn't it. #Oscars2015
Patricia Arquette has come a long way from Prayer of the Rollerboys. I wonder when co star Corey Haim will win an Oscar #Oscars2015
Yikes, and now the future Joker #Oscars2015
And then Captain America... is it wrong that I can only think of these actors in terms of their comic book counterparts? #Oscars2015
The future Mr. Fantastic and future Harley Quinn are doing a presentation #Oscars2015
I think this gag would be funnier if more people saw Birdman. #Oscars2015
If the Oscar goes to saddest song, we have a winner [wipes tear] #Oscars2015
Oscar playoff music is taking a walloping tonight #Oscars2015
Batman on electric guitar. I go my money's worth from this show. #Oscars2015
Director of Ida was able to defeat the playoff music, but then it returned with a vengeance and got him off stage. #Oscars2015
I've actually heard good things about about Ida. Will check it out and on Netflix #Oscars2015
Paraphrasing director of Ida: Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes #Oscars2015
Do you think that every time someone mispronounces Chiwetel Ejiofor's name they think "People are going to think I'm racist!" #Oscars2015
Oh good, they are spotlighting young short film makers. I didn't think they'd have enough material to fill the show #Oscars2015
Sorry, but it is insane that Guardians of the Galaxy did not win best makeup. I'd never seen Michael Rooker more human #Oscars2015
Lord of the Rings Had to create all costumes from scratch. Most costume design involves picking stuff up from a giant warehouse #Oscars2015
Alright, the award you've been waiting for... Costume design! #Oscars2015
Hmm... The movie they were making that Samsung commercial looks better than most nominees #Oscars2015
That was a beautiful speech from the yellow M&M #Oscars2015
J Jonah Jameson may never take down Spider-Man, but now he has an Oscar #Oscars2015
Okay, I'm a sucker for a good musical number. NPH and Anna Kendrick were great. Could have done without Jack Black #Oscars2015
Isn't interesting that most of the movies celebrated in the opening song didn't win Oscars for best picture? #Oscars2015
I laughed at NPH's 1st joke. Good sign #Oscars2015
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