Oscar Wrap Up

I love all of the award shows, so I was, of course, seated on the sofa Sunday night for the big show, The Oscars. I watched the show in its entirety - from the Barbara Walters Special to the Red Carpet arrivals and all the way through the Best Picture announcement. Am I glad I did it? Two days later, I can actually say not really.

I loved the choice of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as co-presenters. They were fabulous every time they hit the stage. I laughed all the way through their monologue, but there was not enough of them. I thought we were off to a great start. What happened over the course of the next 3 hours and 45 minutes was not as exciting.

This year the Oscars doubled the best picture nominees from 5 to 10. They expanded the list because the chief complaint about the Oscars is that the show is too predictable. It's true. It is the last award show of the season, so we have already heard what the Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes), the actors (SAG Awards), the directors (Director's Guild), the producers (Producers Guild), and even the British (BAFTA) have decided are the best performances of the year. When it comes to Oscar time, it is really a moot point.

As it happened, the Oscars went to exactly the actors, director, and picture that were most often predicted to receive it. It was kind of a letdown. I almost wanted Jeremy Renner or Meryl Streep to win just to shake it up a bit, but the odds on favorites did win. The sad part is also that the actors knew they were all expected to win as well. None of them expressed any surprise when their names were called. In January, there was a little shock and an impromptu acceptance speech. Now, the speeches were all well rehearsed. Nice, but a bit too thought out before hitting the stage.

There were some nice surprises along the way - a great tribute to John Hughes, a funny give and take between Tina Fey and Robert Downey, Jr., and a special Modern Family commercial that had me laughing. There was also, however, and awful interpretive dance, an unnecessary tribute to horror films, and an awkward on stage appearance by all of the lead acting nominees.

Perhaps next year I will skip the staying up until midnight and just catch the highlights the following day. Or maybe I will DVR it so I can skip all the boring stuff and get right to the end. What I won't skip is the fashion photos and reviews. I think that is possibly the best part of the evening. My pick for Best Dressed at the 2010 Oscars? Sandra Bullock, hands down.

So, tell me, what did you think? Or did you even watch the show?