(The Royal Lineup - Colin Firth and Tom Hooper now have a matching set)
Well, as quickly as they came they have gone again, and the 83rd Academy Awards (as well as this year's awards' season) has passed. One of the shortest Oscar ceremonies in the past 30 years, the show still seemed to drag on if only because of a lack of any upsets. In fact, practically every category went according to plan.
Why did MoJo fail to get a perfect score, then? (We correctly predicted 16 of the winners) For one, the Oscars come at the pinnacle of the season, and here comes the last chance to award the most deserving. If there is a chance for an upset anywhere, the Oscars is the final place for it to occur. Unfortunately, the plethora of predictions, critic's awards, and smaller award shows practically assure you of the final winner, weeks before the Oscars even occur. Why predict Roger Deakins to win his first Oscar for Best Cinematography? Because we believe that 9 nominations is far too long a wait to win, especially when compared to the nominees he was up against. We interpret Oscar as having a heart - when in reality he's ruthless, cold, and calculated.
On the whole, then, the Oscars were fairly enjoyable to watch, if only because we could rest easy on many of the night's bigger awards going according to plan. Anne Hathaway and James Franco will most likely not be asked to host again, especially Franco, who quickly became one of the most bizarre, distanced, and boring Oscar hosts in history (Possibly stoned, too). What a shame for Hathaway too, because while her energy was exuberant, her teaming with Franco was uncomfortable and completely off-putting to say the least.
The night slowly progressed, bogged down by an unnecessary amount of film homages, introductions, and lengthy presentations (But how cute was Kurt Douglas?) For instance, why was it deemed necessary for Anne Hathaway to introduce Hilary Swank who immediately introduced Kathryn Bigelow to present Best Director? I'm assuming Hilary is contractually obligated to participate in the Oscars in some way, and this was the best they could come up with.
As expected, Melissa Leo finally won her Oscar in a corny amount of exuberance and utter shock. Melissa, didn't you know you were the front-runner the entire season? Why so surprised? Not as expected, Leo became the first Oscar winner to utter the 'F' word during an acceptance speech. It seems that the Best Supporting Actress category was not a complete letdown in terms of shocks, then.
Perhaps the most 'up in the air' category of the night was Best Director, which ended in a photo finish with Tom Hooper prevailing over David Fincher. Although Hooper did win the DGA, his lack of other accolades was still enough to put a shred of doubt in my mind as to his Oscar chances. Never again. From now on I know, when DGA speaks, I MUST listen!
While the King's Speech did end up winning 4 of the 'Big 5' awards (Picture, Director, Actor, (Actress), Screenplay), a feat not accomplished since American Beauty over 10 years ago, it still failed to pull off a true 'sweep,' and we were left with Alice In Wonderland, Inception, and The Social Network pulling off many of the night's early wins. Just like this season, though, the King Speech picked up steam in the final stretch and pulled off a well-deserved victory.
Overall, I still enjoyed the Oscars. It's hard not to. Despite the utter lack of shocks, I believe many, if not all of the winners were truly deserving. If there's one thing that Oscar has taught us this year, though, it's that no one likes surprises.... So they just don't allow for any.
