Oscars a snooze...at least they’re finally over!

By Julia Vogl

The Academy Awards last Sunday night might have to go down as one of the most boring award shows ever. There were no big surprises, no dark horse victories or steals. Lord of the Rings swept and while deserved, it made for bad television. Billy Crystal, after a three year sabbatical, returned to host for the eighth time; he may have been the saving grace of the evening, with witty comments and a musical introduction that summed up the good, the bad and the ugly of the best picture nominees.

After Lord of the Rings had won nine of the 11 Oscars they took home at the end of the night, Crystal joked that by night’s end all of New Zealand would be thanked. Claiming “Best Picture” and “Best Director,” Lord of the Rings also won everything from “Best Soundtrack” to “Best Editing” (although The Return of the King was close to four hours long). While Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King was a phenomenal movie, I thought the trilogy should have been considered as one entity this year as opposed to winning best costume design three years in a row. I mean, the costumes in Girl with a Pearl Earring or The Last Samurai were far more impressive than the cloaks and shields that the cast of Lord of the Rings wore.

As for fashion at the Oscars, Diane Keaton kept it cool with a tuxedo and bowler hat, looking very suave and sexy. Speaking of sexy, Adrian Brody presented the “Best Actress” award and started with, “I am under a restraining order,” joking about his making out with Halle Barry upon receiving the “Best Actor” award last year for his role in The Pianist. He listed the nominees, then took out a mouth spray and spritzed his mouth for laughs before announcing the winner, Charlize Theron.

Among the categories where Lord of the Rings did not win (where it was not nominated) Mystic River took home two Oscars for “Best Supporting Actor” and “Best Supporting Actor” for performances by Tim Robbins and Sean Penn respectively. Penn ousted Johnny Depp, the predicted winner in that category, in one of the few surprises of the evening. Renee Zellwegger won “Best Supporting Actress” for Cold Mountain and presented an irritating pre-prepared speech. More thanks went to mothers this year than in speeches than in any recent ceremony.

I was pleased that Lost in Translation did win an Oscar for Best Original screenplay, making Sophia Coppola the first female American director and writer to win an Oscar. I was also happy that among the boring musical presentations for best song, Triplets of Bellville and A Might Wind provided really entertaining performances. Neither of them won, and I was upset that neither of these films were properly recognized.

If you were doing your homework, at an ExCo or at the Miles Davis tribute concert instead of watching the Oscars, you did not miss much. While I love the Oscars, this year they fell flat of expectations and I only can hope that no movie will dominate all the categories next year. Yay for little independent movies!