The 86th Oscars is in the books. Thoughts on the show and the results:
– While the broadcast went 3:34 it moved along pretty well. No outrageously long speeches or dragged-out presentations.
– Ellen did a nice job. The selfie that crashed Twitter will go down as her top highlight from the evening.
– The Hero montages were well done, though it’s tough (and unnecessary) to try to work a “theme” into an Oscar ceremony.
– Oddities: “Gravity” wins 7 Oscars, including Best Director, but NOT Best Picture. “American Hustle” goes 0-10. Other outstanding films such as “Nebraska”, “Philomena” “Captain Phillips” also shut-out. “The Great Gatsby” goes 2 for 2.
– Best speeches: Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, and the “20 Feet from Stardom” and “Let It Go” winners.
– Most surprising win: “Mr. Hublot” (Animated Short Film). I’ve seen them all and “Get A Horse” was clearly the most creative and impressive. It seems the anti-Walt Disney campaign that kept “Saving Mr. Banks” from getting any meaningful nominations also hurt this short, which featured Disney’s voice as Mickey Mouse.
– Glad that “20 Feet from Stardom” won for Best Documentary, but I will always and forever consider “Blackfish” the best doc. of 2013.
– Great moments: Bill Murray mentioning Harold Ramis and seeing Roger Ebert in the “In Memoriam”.
– Worst moment BY FAR: John Travolta’s totally embarrassing pronunciation of Idina Menzel’s name before her performance of “Let It Go.” He came out with something like – Adele Dazeem? It seemed to shake her and effect her performance, which was not sharp. But who can blame her? A moment you’ve been waiting for your entire life and your name gets completely butchered. What was he thinking? Ellen tried to cover after the song but the damage had been done. Feel bad for her.
– Enjoyed the other performances, especially “Happy” and Pink’s version of “Over the Rainbow”.
– Overall, Ellen’s decision to interact with the celebs on the floor was smart (the pizza gag worked). Her scripted, on-stage intros were less effective.
– The funniest moment of the night came during ABC’s Pre-Show. Jimmy Kimmel’s negative Twitter skit was hilarious and perfectly executed. Hats-off to Lara Spencer for her supporting role. The Oscars should consider hiring whoever wrote that gag to work on next year’s show.
– Personally, I nailed 20 of 24 predictions – a new high. My quest for the perfect Oscars ballot will resume next year.