This blog was written by Sarah and Sean.
We couldn’t wait for the Oscars this year. Sarah has been watching it since she was eleven, and she makes sure to never miss a telecast. Now, we’re married and we watch it together. Although not everyone we wanted to win did, this year was still great and we had a good time. Better yet, our puppy was on his best behavior. Yay! So, we thought that we’d share a few of our reactions at what happened.
Reaction #1: Octavia’s Big Win.
If you look at her imdb page, you’ll see that she spent years paying her dues. So, it was great seeing that it all paid off. The icing on the cake? She thanked Alabama! You go girl! We currently reside in Alabama along with Sarah’s parents and Sarah was born and raised here, so we were thrilled!
Reaction #2: Cirque du Soleil.
It was an interesting idea to have them perform, but the motiff was characteristically bizarre. Apparently flying around and tossed to the point of spinal damage is the experience they have at the movies. Honestly, Hugh Jackman’s Tonys-style musical number makes a better fit for the Oscars.
Reaction #3: Billy Crystal.
Clearly he can host the show without having to try so hard, and that’s what we needed this year. He was funny, sincere, confident, and humble. Bob Hope may be history’s classic Mr. Oscars, but Crystal is clearly the show’s silver age king. The lesson here is, forget trying to reach the 18-24 demographic, go for tradition. It’s comforting.
Reaction #4: Meryl Streep’s Surprise Win
Why are people so angry with this one? Did Viola Davis deserve to win? Yes, but that doesn’t make Streep any less deserving. Plus, there have been times that she’s been robbed and that wasn’t fair then. People probably feel like she doesn’t need the third award because she’s up there with Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Also, they don’t feel like it’s fair to the younger ones, like our favorite this year, Michelle Williams. But don’t worry about Davis and Williams, they’ll get their turn. Just you wait.
The bottom line is, we had a good time this year. Not too many surprises, and apart from Ryan Seacrest’s tuxedo sabotage, there was no noticeable chaos. It felt like a return to form that we didn’t realize we needed. It would be a pity if Crystal didn’t at least host a tenth time.
March 2nd, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I had lots of issues with this years event. I’m used to AMPAS having a different view of who should win than I do, so I can overlook that. None of the choices were bad enough to make me angry, but a few (Streep included) were highly disappointing.)
My issues were really with the show itself. No doubt they felt they needed to toss a bone to Cirque du Soleil for kicking them out of the [no longer Kodak] theater for 2 weeks. But it really was a major distraction - especially since the video playing behind them that was suppose to be some sort of connection to film culture was ignored. Because of this they don’t have time to perform the original song nominees?
I also found the way they did the honorary Oscars to be shameful. If you want to honor someone, honor them. Don’t show us clips of the ceremony to honor them.
March 3rd, 2012 at 3:17 am
I quit watching ALL awards shows back in the ’70s.
The accounts I’ve read of this show(the ONLY way I follow them now)make me feel justified in giving them up.
They made a FEW smart moves this time(bringing back Billy Crystal,Cirque Du Soleil),but everything else reminded me WHY I quit watching.
Michelle Williams got ripped,Meryl Streep SHOULD have won for some of her previous films,the wrong movies got nominated for best picture(what message is it sending that A SILENT MOVIE WINS THE BEST PICTURE OSCAR IN 2011?).
In short,I didn’t really miss a thing.