Oscar thought
Imagine being Anne Hathaway, twenty-six years old, sitting there twenty feet from Shirley MacLaine while she tells you how awesome she thinks you are.
I actually really liked that aspect of the Oscar ceremony — having the acting awards presented by groups of previous winners, each of whom addressed one of the nominees personally, instead of speaking impersonally about them in the third person. And it fit the whole aesthetic of the ceremony, which was, as one of our party said, “glam on a budget.” How do you do Hollywood glitz in a recession, without seeming grotesque in your conspicuous consumption? Well, inasmuch as that’s even possible, you do it by hearkening back to classic Hollywood style, and also by leaning on the star power of your people, rather than big-budget displays. (lowellboyslash, I know you hated the song-and-dance numbers, but Hugh Jackman actually does a fair bit of musical theatre, and both he and (later on) Beyonce actually carried off the style of it decently well.)
Kate Winslet wins the Best Acceptance Speech award for the night, by being all sweet and touching and then telling Meryl Streep she can suck it. *^_^*
Not the most memorable ceremony ever, but we enjoyed it. The key to the Oscars, as always, is to watch them with a big ol’ group of friends and as much snark as you can bring. They’re dead boring on their own.