Summing Up
Posted March 5th, 2006 by RD Heldenfels
I give Jon Stewart about a C minus as host. Not a strong monologue, and he seemed determined not to venture too far from his lectern. Too many better-on-paper jokes.
Having had a moment to think about it, I'm a little surprised that the political content was as muted as it was, given the Iraq war and the way a lot of Hollywood feels about President Bush.
Relatively efficient telecast, coming in at 3 1/2 hours. But you have to wonder why the movie academy keeps claiming that it will finish in three hours.
Good stuff: Opening sketch, Clooney's acceptance, Ben Stiller, Lily and Meryl, Reese's acceptance, the "Pimp" acceptance.
Bad stuff: Three high points were in the first hour. Misspelling Will Ferrell's name. Lauren Bacall. "Pimp" overly edited for broadcast. (Make that "Pimp" edited for broadcast, period. If the words scare the academy, then put some content rules in the nomination process.) Cutting off the best-picture producers.
Preshow: Thank goodness for Keira Knightley. Should have been more finery on view. Wish I had recorded Joan Rivers's chat with Ludacris.
Look later for a podcast from me and George Thomas. You're a beautiful audience! Goodnight!
March 6th, 2006 at 9:52 am
I actually really liked Jon Stewart. He didn't stray too far, he didn't push too much and had some nice lines during the show:
"Good evening ladies, gentlemen… Felicity"
"Just to recap: Martin Scorcese, zero Oscars, Three 6 Mafia, one Oscar"
"Walk the Line, you know, Ray, only for white people"
"We've taken a new approach with presenters this year: they'll present in order of how much talent they have"
He was a different host from previous years in that he really didn't seem to want to spotlight, and seemed more willing to actually host and keep the show moving. I liked it.
March 9th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I made the paper with that reply. I was reading the story and the quote sounded oddly familiar, but it took me a minute to put it together.
March 9th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
I thought your comment was worth including in my Beacon Journal mailbag. And, while I may not comment on them, I read all the comments posted here.