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| John Legend and Common perform "Glory." (Courtesy of Getty Images) |
The Academy Awards aired Sunday evening, followed by the
usual complaints about robbery, out-of-touch Hollywood elites and being
subjected to the “worst Oscars ever.” In other words, business as usual.
Look, an awards show like this is never going to be a home
run. The producers are looking for ratings, and the host is having to entertain
the folks watching at home while simultaneously placating the massive egos in
the room. Plus, people are tuning in for a variety of different reasons. That
means everyone’s going to find different elements of the show to complain
about.
As such, Neil Patrick Harris performed admirably in one of
the entertainment industry’s most unenviable jobs. There’s almost no upside
whatsoever. The praiseworthy bits are chalked up to him simply doing his job, yet
he gets blamed for all the bad stuff, even when it’s out of his control.
But I’m no different. There was plenty about the show I
loved and plenty of stuff that I griped about, including the customary
way-too-long running time. So here are a handful of the ceremony’s elements
that stood out most, for good or ill.
The Good
John Legend and
Common’s “Glory” performance: Hands down, the best part of the night. I
know some consider the Selma anthem controversial because it name-drops
Ferguson, but that’s a debate for another day. The sparse intro featuring Legend
sitting at a piano; set design incorporating the symbolic Edmund Pettus Bridge;
the song reaching its crescendo with Legend and Common leading a gospel choir
dressed as marchers in Selma – all of it gave me chills and was certainly
worthy of the lengthy standing ovation it received. Seeing actors David Oyelowo
(who played MLK in the film) and Chris Pine tearfully respond to the
performance only added to the powerful moment. Simply stunning.
Neil Patrick Harris
as host (Part 1): He took a lot of heat in the press, but come on – strolling
onto the stage in your tighty-whities in front of Hollywood’s elite takes guts.
Plus, I genuinely got a kick of his reactions when a joke hit or bombed. The
guy has a variety of talents, but a good poker face isn’t one of them.
“Everything Is
Awesome” brings levity to the stuffy room: It doesn’t happen often –
usually just once a year, but I love it when the Oscars decide to let some of
the hot air out of the pompous proceedings. This time, the job fell to the fun,
dangerously addictive Best Song nominee from The Lego Movie. Honestly, the
performance – full of bright colors and nonstop energy – should’ve appeared
later in the night so it could inject some energy back into the auditorium. The
film’s interpretation of Batman is still one of my favorite versions of the
character, so seeing Will Arnett show up in full costume to yell “Darkness! No
parents!” was phenomenal.
The speeches: Instead
of the usual laundry list of agents, publicists and spouses, the winners
actually used their few seconds of microphone time to advocate for important
issues. That typically comes off as preachy and arrogant, but this year’s
speeches were passionate and personal. J.K. Simmons urged us to call our
parents, Patricia Arquette reminded us that it’s 2015 and women still get paid
less than men for doing the exact same job and other winners spoke eloquently
about suicide.
The Ill
Producers Neil Meron
and Craig Zadan: I get that ratings are a big concern, and these guys have
now presided over three telecasts that were wildly-to-moderately successful in
that area. But their priorities are out of whack. Not everyone loves musicals, but
that has been their primary focus for three straight years. Even I’m sick of it
at this point, and I’m their target demo. That’s not the point of the evening,
guys. Make us laugh, make us cry, urge winners to keep their speeches short and
interesting. That’s it. There’s no reason a ceremony with 24 categories should
run almost four hours. Next year, let’s get some fresh blood behind the scenes.
Neil Patrick Harris
as host (Part 2): Who’s came up with the “predictions in the briefcase”
bit? Holy cow. The reveal was cute, but Harris was beating a dead horse by the
end. Plus, I was also a bit surprised at how mean some of his off-the-cuff
jokes were. I’m the last guy to suggest going easy on a bunch of people who get
paid millions to play make-believe, but not all of his targets fit that
description.
The never-ending musical
numbers: I know I just sang the
praises of “Glory” and “Everything is Awesome,” but at least they were Best
Song nominees. There was a reason for those performances. And I’m not saying
Lady Gaga’s The Sound of Music medley wasn’t good. She sounded fantastic, and
that’s coming from someone who isn’t even a fan. Plus, Julie Andrews coming onstage
afterward was lovely. But, again, that’s not the point of the night. By this
time, it was 11:15 and there were still seven awards to hand out. I was just
ready to hear the big winners so I could go to sleep.
Birdman winning Best Picture: Hollywood likes to pat itself on the back. That’s
no surprise. And every once in a while that’s okay. But naming Birdman – an
admittedly solid flick with fantastic performances – Best Picture so soon after
doing the same with The Artist and Argo seems a little much. We get it,
guys. You believe what you do is important. But literally every other nominee in
the category was a better movie. I was personally rooting for Boyhood, but I
would’ve been equally happy with a win for Whiplash, Selma or The Grand
Budapest Hotel. Oh, well. Maybe I’ll back a winner next year.
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