The 2015 Academy Awards
attachment (1).jpeg
The Oscars were certainly entertaining this year: good jokes, great musical numbers, and at least one upset in the award distribution part of the night, which of course is the point of the evening; to give out awards, but seems to get lost in the ever-increasing number of interim activities e.g. musical numbers, too long host and presenter speeches, and skits. However, some of these interludes were great and I discuss them below.
In terms of host, as wonderful as Neil Patrick Harris is, I’m not sure I want to tune in to find him hosting all the major awards shows every other year or so. I prefer him most as host when he’s emceeing the Tony’s, since he has a wonderful, naturally theatrical spirit. I think Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, Bill Hader or Maya Rudolph would make brilliant Oscar hosts!
My favorite giggle moment of the evening, which was wonderfully executed by all parties, started when Neil Patrick Harris joked about the mispronunciation of names, and then introduced Idina Menzel who in turn introduced her co-presenter Glom Gazingo aka John Travolta. The two presenters proceeded to gracefully and quite humorously joke about the still-hilarious mishap that Travolta made last year at the 2014 Oscars when he introduced Adele Dazeem aka Idina Menzel. That moment was one of the funniest moments ever on live TV, hilarious, and last night’s recovery from it was well played by all.
I absolutely loved the musical number performed by John Legend and Common for the song Glory from Selma, as well as Lady Gaga’s performance of a 50th-anniversary tribute to “The Sound of Music”. Bravo!
It was thrilling to witness the fantastic Birdman win for best picture, best director for Alejandro G. Inarritu, original screenplay and cinematography, however I was upset that its star, Michael Keaton, did not get the Oscar for best actor that he so richly deserved. A major upset in my book, even though I applaud Eddie Redmayne who won instead, for his also ferocious performance in The Theory of Everything. For me, it was Keaton’s to win.
And lastly, Patricia Arquette’s impassioned acceptance speech in which she spoke about equal rights, was thrilling. The lack of gender equity was a theme of this awards season, and Arquette’s speech brought cheers from everyone. Double Bravo!