Oscars

I'm sick of this mainstream media trope. Every year they slam the host of the Oscars, claiming that he or she was unfunny and that the show was boring. Writers think they are being edgy by saying the show is dull, but the cliche is like moldy bread on a July afternoon. It smells real bad and sticks to everything. Cut it out.

In actuality, Stewart was great. He was quick on his feet and delivered some excellent one-liners. After the relentless smattering of Hollywood clips, Stewart's line "We are actually out of movie clips" was tear jerkingly funny. He was a great host with excellent timing and wonderful stage presence.

If you want to criticize him for not being political enough, that to is a double edged sword. He made occasional jokes about politics, but they were largely in good taste. If he had made more Daily Showesque jokes, chances are he would be heavily criticized for that this morning. Stewart made a choice, and it was a good one.

Of course, there were a couple of problems with the show. The music they played while the winners were giving their speeches was alarmingly tasteless. Plus, the constant slamming in our faces of the idea that movies need to be seen on the movie screen was awkward. Jake Gyllenhaal couldn't even read his dialogue about "portable dvd players" with a straight face.

Everything else was very good though. I'm happy several people and films won. Mostly, I'm happy that Wallace and Gromit won for best animated feature. The folks at Aardman do good work and deserve to be recognized. I was rooting for Murderball over March of the Penguins, but I'm still happy the penguin movie won.