jd87: A few thoughts on the Oscars

by Josh Delman

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A few thoughts on the Oscars

I didn't watch the whole thing, but I took note of a few things:

I. Alan Arkin called Philip Seymour Hoffman "Seymour Philip Hoffman." There was a camera on Hoffman's face and you could see the emotional rollercoaster he rode after that name fuckup: first an awkward mouth movement with raised eyebrows that resembled the look on a kid's face before he's about to cry, then a sort of self-conscious realization that there was nothing he could do about it and that he had just made a really ridiculous face, and finally a return to his normal stoic, pedophilic-like stare.

II. I don't know if it was just the sound on my TV, but the musical number mashup that Hugh Jackman did with Beyoncé sounded like shit. Also, she was clearly lip syncing, although I'm pretty sure Jackman was not. Did she have a sore throat? I didn't watch the Red Carpet nonsense this time. (In fact, this is the first time I've watched the Oscars for more than 10 minutes in at least 3 years.)

III. Once Slumdog Millionaire had won its 4th or 5th award, I figured it was going to sweep everything it was nominated for. Almost did: got nominated for 10 awards and won 8.

IV. Ben Stiller's take on Joaquin Phoenix was funny at first, but his timing/chemistry with Natalie Portman was too weird and inconsistent and that was killing it for me. (If you haven't seen Phoenix's interview on Letterman then you won't get the joke.)

February 23, 2009

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