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The Oscars: The morning after
Globe writers discuss the awards, the dresses and the strange moments from the Academy Awards
- Good morning.
- Hello!
- Let's start by getting your overall impressions of last night's show. Thumbs up or down?
- Way down.
- Way down.
- They went back to a tired formula that produced tired results.
- Two way downs? What happened?
- And it made me feel tired.
- I actually napped at a point and missed nothing.
- Hi, all. I'm going to start by saying, you're all wrong. I thought it was elegant, old-school, yes, but in a good way.
- the jokes were bad, the event dragged on. There was nothing new and unexpected.
- I was really rooting for Crystal to nail it, and boy did he really, really not nail it.
- What were you hoping from Crystal, Dave?
- The mistake I made was thinking that if he did what he used to do it would be great, because my memories are of him being hilarious. But he dusted off the old routine and the magic was gone.
- I agree. It was just too much of the same old.
- I laughed when he said "Welcome to Chapter 11 theatre." But I am rather old.
- After last year's failed experiment with Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts to court the youth vote and now Crystal's bombing, the Academy must have no clue where to go next.
- Let's all harken back to last year, when Anne Hathaway and James Franco were floundering. Crystal came on stage to give one award, and you could feel the entire room relax. At last, you were in good hands. Then this year, when Brett Ratner, the next best hope to shake things up, made a gay slur and resigned, they turned to Crystal for precisely want you're objecting to: comfort food.
- Those "name the theatre this" jokes got tired pretty quick. One or two were good, though.
- I took the choice of host more as an admission that they have no clue what to do.
- The "reading minds" joke fell flat on me. I just wanted them to hurry up at give out statues already.
- I think we may be missing the point. I don't think they wanted new, shocking, etc. Look at the way Sasha Baron Cohen was hustled off the carpet for dumping fake ashes on Ryan Seacrest. The last time we saw him all night, he was surrounded by beefy security guards.
- Hi Johanna. It also seemed to me that, whether by design or chance, Crystal's older style matched the nostalgic feel of the top movies, The Artist and Hugo.
- Sacha Baron Cohen was the best part!
- Yes, I'd say the theme of the night was, The grownups are back in the building. Forget courting the youngsters -- seize the power of the 40+ demographic, who actually see movies in theatres, and try to reassert their relevance.
- Nah, even Sacha Baron Cohen's schtick felt old!
- Sasha Baron Cohen seemed old to me too. Another costume, another bad accent, another outlandish gag. Get a new gimmick, pal.
- Was there a high point of the evening's show for you?
- Angelina Jolie's right leg
- Plummer's speech, hands down. And Meryl Streep's win.
- What about her scary bony arms?
- We have to remember, the Oscars is the only awards show that rewards the craft categories. So you either embrace those awards, for film editing and production design and sound mixing, or you don't watch the show. I thought they kept things moving along quite well. The set looked fantastic. The music, by Pharrel Williams and Hans Zimmer, was lively. And I liked how the awards were introduced with a behind-the-scenes look at what the winners actually do.
- She has the legs of a faun.
- The music was really good. But they need to mix up the categories to give comedians more awards, the way the Golden Globes does it.
- Hahaha - the bony arms were off-putting. But that leg forced itself into the spotlight.
- Johanna, I loved the set. But can we talk about that useless giant piece of sheet music that came out for Best Original Song?
- I think this was the first show in a while that didn't start with the best supporting actress award. Instead they went with all the craft awards. I thought that was a better way to do it.
- Okay, I can see what kind of crowd I'm in here. But even the bony limbs are in service to an idea of glamor that was assertively retro -- all those women, of every age, with elaborate hairdos and long trains.
- The pacing was a big improvement over previous years.
- Yes, the dresses last night were a knockout. And so many big, stiff updos and buns.
- Johanna sees what kind of crowd she's in. Is the Oscars' mistake that it doesn't know what kind of crowd is watching?
- The producers made some choices and stuck with them: Let people, for the most part, finish their speeches. Have 2 presenters enter together and present multiple awards. Spend more time showing clips of those awards. Keep it focused on the craft of the thing. and keep reminding people that going to movies in theatres is more magical than watching them on the phone.
- Shouldn't Hollywood embrace movies on phones? Why put itself in opposition to that?
- I think the Oscar's mistake is that it takes itself too seriously. But what other choice does it have?
- Because they make a lot of money from theatre owners renting their films.
