If you tuned in to Sunday's Oscars telecast, then there might be a good possibility you A) changed the channel B) fell asleep on the couch C) threw things at the screen or D) all of the above.
Here's betting that a good majority of America's top TV critics wished they could take a nap rather than monitor one of the most boring Academy Awards in years. (Our two cents.) Which is precisely what makes the review from The Hollywood Reporter's TV critic Tim Goodman such a scathingly delicious read.
Goodman, spot-on as ever, observed no improvement from 2011's edition, which was co-hosted by the inarguably mismatched duo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway. This year, Billy Crystal returned, with not-so-great results.
"The colossal hosting disaster from last year is now forgotten by the safe, unfunny, retro-disaster that was Crystal making jokes that he laughed at repeatedly and overseeing an Oscars telecast that was as poorly paced as any in recent memory," said Goodman.
PHOTOS: Oscars 2012: Red Carpet Arrivals
He particularly loathed the endless stream of montages wherein actors from Reese Witherspoon to Brad Pitt waxed poetic about how the movies change lives.
"First off, stop dropping the anvil on us. Secondly, at some point the level of self-congratulation about how your work makes the life of The Little People more magical begins to feel condescending, arrogant and annoying," Goodman sniped, adding: "So how about three of those montages instead of, what, 33?"
At the same time, he praised the refreshing onstage interludes of Emma Stone, Christopher Plummer and "even Angelina Jolie sticking her leg out with authority helped distract from the feeling that the clock was melting." (Another highlight of the evening: Jolie's right leg got a Twitter account.)
Let's round up the rest, shall we?
Hank Stuever of The Washington Post said Crystal "seemed to be to be overseeing a cruise ship dinner show designed to appeal to the over-50 travel club. Early on, it hit the rocks and started to list. Almost everyone drowned."
PHOTOS: Oscars 2012: The Winners
Stuever enjoyed bits from the Bridesmaids stars, Cirque du Soleil and Christopher Guest's mockumentary team -- but, like Goodman, became irked at the montage overload and how the formula "felt like a long commercial." As for Crystal, "He pulled out a lot of ba-da-dum gags that at least (the very least) had the appeal of seeming familiar as comfy slippers," said Steuver, noting a "nursing home feeling."
In her review, New York Times TV critic Alessandra Stanley quipped: "The whole night looked like an AARP pep rally," with stale jokes referring to Crystal's age and a slow-moving format where the "some of the least interesting awards" kicked off the broadcast.
Newsday's Verne Gay echoed that Crystal-on-a-cruise-ship sentiment, writing: "Billy was back and it was very good to have him back. But the hard truth is that the Oscars, like life itself, has moved on. The world has changed, and sometimes it's better to cherish our memories than rehash them."
PHOTOS: The Making of 'The Artist'
Meanwhile, Mary McNamara of The Los Angeles Times pondered what the three-hour, super-reverential event might have been like had disgraced would-be producer Brett Ratner not opened his mouth, thereby dragging pal Eddie Murphy along with him as a prospective host.
"Chris Rock's riff about how easy it is to voice animation also cleared the smoke of the holy incense for a few minutes, raising the question of how different the show would have been if Ratner had kept his lip zipped and Murphy had remained host," McNamara wrote.
"But if Crystal and his bar mitzvah humor seemed a bit dated and occasionally weirdly racist — yes, that was him in black face as Sammy Davis Jr. during the opening number, and yes, he did make a joke about there being no black women in Beverly Hills — his hand was steady on the tiller, even if the waters were bathwater calm and very, very familiar," she continued.
Hollywood Reporter's wag nonwithstanding, this year's Oscar show was light years' better than the two previous outings that attempted so desparately to attract the Twilight/Transformers crowd. While not particularly exciting, the show pleasantly honored the grownups quite well. Let's hope for a repeat of THIS type Oscar show next year. And that Hollywood and world cinema presents us with another year of excellence like this one. Most nominees were well deserving.
Just send the Kiddies to the movies. Michael Bay awaits. --- Oh!... and be sure they take their cell phones with them.
I didn't care much for it - both the show and the winning selections, and I'm glad I only caught the last hour or so. Gotta say though, I'm not big on award shows anyways.
Hollywood Reporter's wag nonwithstanding, this year's Oscar show was light years' better than the two previous outings that attempted so desparately to attract the Twilight/Transformers crowd. While not particularly exciting, the show pleasantly honored the grownups quite well. Let's hope for a repeat of THIS type Oscar show next year. And that Hollywood and world cinema presents us with another year of excellence like this one. Most nominees were well deserving.
Just send the Kiddies to the movies. Michael Bay awaits. --- Oh!... and be sure they take their cell phones with them.
I agree it was infinitely better than last year's disaster.
I did not like Billy Crystal as the host this year and hope they find someone who's a cross between Hathaway/Franco and Crystal in terms of age and ability.
I agree it was infinitely better than last year's disaster.
I did not like Billy Crystal as the host this year and hope they find someone who's a cross between Hathaway/Franco and Crystal in terms of age and ability.
The show is geared to its average member, which demographics say is a 63 year old white male, who's also a millionaire. Anyone under 50 can expect to be mystified, both by the nominations and the entertainment level of the show.
I just wish Eddie Murphy hadn't bailed after Brett Ratner got ousted. I think he could have been a really interesting host. With Billy Crystal you knew you were getting a safe host and I can understand why he was picked as they were rushed after the Murphy/Ratner situation so I don't really fault the choice but I certainly didn't find the show entertaining. Part of the problem as well was that I wasn't really interested in any of the nominated movies and didn't really think any of the presenters were funny.
I was glad to see Jim Rash (Dean Pelton from Community) win Best Adapted Screenplay though. I never would have guessed he would become an Oscar winner.
Obviously it was better then last years but that really isn't saying much. I haven't been a fan of the show for years now and last nights was no change. I just don't find it all that interesting.
I was glad to see Jim Rash (Dean Pelton from Community) win Best Adapted Screenplay though. I never would have guessed he would become an Oscar winner.
Sounds like people who don't like award shows and critics always complain about The Academy Awards no matter how good or who hosts. I'm an annual watcher and last night's was one of the best telecasts I can remember.
Sounds like people who don't like award shows and critics always complain about The Academy Awards no matter how good or who hosts. I'm an annual watcher and last night's was one of the best telecasts I can remember.
Whine Whine Whine.
I like award shows, and I've liked Billy Crystal in the past.
We're all "actual watchers" -- whatever that means.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, as are we.
I was talking about the critics more in general in regards to my opinions. You guys are entitled to yours, as always, but the critics are always bent when it comes to these shows so their opinion is always invalid in my book when it comes to the Oscars.
I wouldn't say it was bad. Stale, yes, but not bad.
I liked the Cirque de Soleil performance. I think the Oscars should have more performances from groups outside it's industry like this. It would certainly make the night more exciting. Most of those "films" they showed were entertaining for about thirty seconds.
I was talking about the critics more in general in regards to my opinions. You guys are entitled to yours, as always, but the critics are always bent when it comes to these shows so their opinion is always invalid in my book when it comes to the Oscars.
I wouldn't say it was bad. Stale, yes, but not bad.
I liked the Cirque de Soleil performance. I think the Oscars should have more performances from groups outside it's industry like this. It would certainly make the night more exciting. Most of those "films" they showed were entertaining for about thirty seconds.
I'm waiting for some kind of licensing deal for Cirque de Soleil to adapt that act into a larger show dedicated to the history of cinema with the greatest film themes ever composed. Hell, if they worked with Giacchino or Zimmer in adapting and orchestrating with a performance like they gave last night, it would be one of their greatest hits.
I didn't think it was terrible but it just seemed really boring and predictable. I'm sure a lot of the familiarity of it came from Crystal hosting. I like Billy but, it was just like his past years as host, so it has sort of lost its luster. My biggest peeve with the show was the way they seemed to keep reminding us why we like movies with all the lame montages and interviews....I KNOW WHY I LIKE FILM ALREADY! That and I can't get over the fact that Drive was seriously snubbed!
On a side note....I think Kristen Wiig could have great potential as a host.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Reviewers call Oscars retro unfunny disaster
Oscar show better than last two...
Linear Mode
