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February 28, 2005
Warm It Up Chris
Last night, for the first time in my entire life, I actually watched the Oscars. Well, not all of them, just til 8:45 when Chris Rock finished his caustic and hilarious opening monologue. In fact, the only reason why I tuned in in the first place was because Rock, who in my opinion is the funniest man alive, was the one hosting the show. Leading up to Sunday night’s annual self-congratulatory pageant of over indulgence and Hollywood self importance there was much hype over the ever controversial Rock being picked to host the show. Mostly drummed up and over-exaggerated by Matt Drudge the underlying consensus was that many of the Academy members didn’t want Rock to host the show because of his penchant for poking fun at celebrities. Chris failed to disappoint by riding the hype train and stirring interest with such comments as ‘I don’t know a straight black man who watches the Oscars’ to the press in the days leading up to the event.
Producer Gil Cates’ gamble paid off with this years ratings for the Oscars the highest since 2000. Not too surprisingly in the Washington Post this morning Tom Shales wrote that it is probably safe to say that Rock won’t be invited back to host the show again. This severely disappoints me and serves as a catalyst moment in the ever-evolving relationship between the public and Hollywood. The sole reason the Oscars had high ratings this year after years of dismally low viewership were because Rock was hosting them and we knew that he was going to take numerous cheap shots at all the stars in attendance. Nobody watched to see celebrities self congratulating each other with their over dramatic walks to the podium, long drawn out speeches on why their film was so important and why their awards mean so much. The fact of the matter is what they do doesn’t count. They aren't changing the world, they aren't having an impact; all they do is get paid gobs of money to pretend to be someone else in front of a camera.
More viewers tuned in this year not to see them win something but instead to observe the awkward facial expressions that would ensue when a man who wouldn’t pull any punches was given a microphone and their full attention. The Oscars suddenly became attractive after years of deteriorating interest because we thought that Rock, our spy and fearless spokesman for the cynical blue-collar public, would infiltrate the castle of Hollywood and let the royalty know what we really think of them. I thought the whole affair was quite funny and rather entertaining.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the night:
"The only acting you ever see at the Oscars is when people act like they aren't mad that they lost. I remember one year when Halle Berry won the Oscar, Nicole Kidman was smiling so wide she should have won an Emmy at the Oscars for her great performance."
"One of my favorite movies this year was Fahrenheit 9/11. Michael Moore did not get nominated for an Oscar. Right now Michael Moore is wondering, 'I should have made Super Size Me. I've done the research.' "
"Oprah is so rich, I saw John Kerry proposing to her an hour ago."
If Hollywood wants to have a self congratulatory party, bereft of any humor paid for at the expense of their pride, than don’t televise it. If you want us to feign interest and watch, than you better keep us entertained. We’ll let you have your pageant and fool yourselves into thinking we care as long as we have a lone spokesperson to keep your pride in check. If you don’t than you shouldn’t be surprised if no one watches.
On a similar note and much to my surprise, I have a new-found respect for Halle Berry.
Posted by Jon at February 28, 2005 05:57 PM