80th Academy Awards (2007): Analysis

What an inglorious show for such a glorious anniversary. The 80th Annual Academy Awards may have gone off without a hitch (a few technical glitches were barely noticeable), but it also went off without anything resembling glamour or enjoyment.

The show started off proceeded, as usual, by a 30-minute red carpet arrival show. Hosted by the ever present Regis Philbin, Shaun Robinson and Samantha Harris did most of the celebrity interviews as Philbin late in the broadcast went backstage to show viewers what it was like back there. While Philbin seems to be genuinely well liked by the stars, his ingratiating and cloying personality became the first sign that the telecast was in trouble. Most glaring was his recognition of non-stars whom he coaxed into self-mocking responses including a longtime bleacher fan who only started in the bleacher seats in the mid-80s. A long time, but not nearly as long as Philbin suggested it was.

With only a scant few celebrities introduced in the red carpet show and a dearth of quality, intelligent interviewers, it’s questionable whether the format should be maintained, but as long as other networks are doing it, Oscar will continue doing it.

When the show finally started, we were given a poorly produced montage featuring characters from many classic and non-classic films. Each was brought together with computer-generated effects so bad that the Razzies might want to recognize them (obviously they didn’t get Pixar or some other major production house to do the job right).

Jon Stewart was hit-or-miss in his opening monologue. While there were certainly some funny lines, his gaffes were far more noticeable. Among the highlights were a 80-year-old Oscar jab at Republican presidential contender John McCain and a prickly barb about the Variety party’s cancellation suggesting that if the magazine wanted to show solidarity with the writers they might consider inviting some of them one day.

His bombs include a rather irritating joke about Gaydolf Titler simultaneously mocking Democratic presidential contender Barack Hussein Obama’s name, furthering the already-crass e-mails referencing his name and trying to dig into terrorist paranoia. And his joke about Alzheimer’s film Away from Her suggesting it was Hillary Clinton’s feel good film of the year and also suggesting Dennis Hopper needed a reminder of where he was seemed a little too off-color even for the Stewart.

He moved the show along quite well, though his own amusement at his jokes was rather distracting (one of my only problems with Whoopi Goldberg as host), and made several really classy decisions later in the broadcast (though he did also have a few more bad jokes). His best later-show attempts at humor were his “And the Baby goes to…” joke making fun of Angelina Jolie’s continuous child adoptions, and one showing “clips” of great binocular and periscope scenes in film and one of people waking from bad dreams. The latter was designed to make fun of the potential clip show the telecast would have come to had the Writers Guild of America strike continued.

The first of the big prizes didn’t come until the second award and even then, the first acting trophy arrived sixth in the presentation order. Best Costume Design went to the plethora of costumes in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne was very brief in her comments which only served to diminish the rambling Brad Bird who won the night’s second Oscar for Best Animated Feature for his Pixar/Disney production Ratatouille.

A montage of Oscar show clips separated the two awards featuring unpredictable moments in the telecast’s history. Most of the clips were rather unexceptional. Even the streaker running behind David Niven seemed less interesting, largely because the context was lost without Niven’s tart response.

Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway presented Bird with his Oscar, but it was their introduction that was probably the most interesting of the evening. While all category intros sound scripted, this one, at least early on in the joke, was modestly funny and effective. It surrounded Carell’s confusion over presented Animated Feature instead of the more prestigious Documentary award. He took the joke too far as he often does, but it was Anne Hathaway that really made the entire affair seem class. Her “straight man” routine seemed strangely reminiscent of Gracie Allen putting George Burns into place.

Katherine Heigl confessed her nerves as she presented the Best Makeup award to the artists who helped age Marion Cotillard through the filming of La Vie en Rose. Their speech was endearing if not a bit long, but it proved to be one of the category’s most classy choices, turning back recent tendencies towards rewarding glaringly obvious prosthetic makeup jobs.

Stewart introduced the first song of the evening featuring Amy Adams performing “Happy Working Song” from Enchanted. She acted like she might have acted had she been in a movie. However, with the bare stage, lack of dancers, and no set design, it became painfully obvious that the show had intended something entirely different and that perhaps the CGI effects that were supposed to accompany were not completed in time. If there was no such intention, it easily goes down in history as the most ludicrous and pathetic production numbers ever.

To present the Visual Effects award, wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson talked about his early childhood fear of the bizarre created by visual effects artists. It was delivered like a child might deliver a prepared eulogy at a funeral. Making his presentation all the less exceptional was the fact that he presented the night’s first, and only, major surprise. The award did not go to the effects-laden Michael Bay film Transformers; it went to the fantasy creations of The Golden Compass. It was a wonderful surprise…too bad it had to come so early in the evening.

Cate Blanchett arrived next to present the award for Art Direction which presented a surprise, going not to the Art Directors Guild award winner There Will Be Blood, but to the period musical Sweeney Todd. It wasn’t a total surprise, but was the first indication that Blood‘s chances at Best Picture were lost.

The next award was the first of the Top Six presented and it went to the expected recipient: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men. Last year’s Best Supporting Actress winner for Dreamgirls, Jennifer Hudson, presented the trophy to please Bardem who finished up his speech in Spanish and started a near-record trend even he wouldn’t have expected. This was also the first acting award of the night which was preceded by clips from past Oscar shows where notable names were presented Supporting Actor prizes. That they focused so much on Cuba Gooding Jr.’s rather pathetic on-stage display shows that they haven’t been keeping up with how much his career has tanked since then and that he’s one of the more irritating victors of the category.

Keri Russell came out next to present the next Original Song nominee, this one from the film in which she co-starred with Joaquin Phoenix: August Rush. Getting a bit more into the groove, “Raise It Up” featured the amazing soloist Jamie Simone Nash, who actually made the rather uninspirational song pleasant. The minimalist approach to set design seemed more fitting the Tonys than the Oscars and even they would have done a better job.

Attempting to tell Hollywood he was indeed okay after his suicide attempt, Owen Wilson presented the Live Action Short Film award to Le Mozart des Pickpockets. It was then followed up by a silly “bee” clip presented by animated Jerry Seinfeld from the film Bee Movie. He ended up handing the award for Animated Short Film to the Prokofiev short Peter & The Wolf.

Little Miss Sunshine Best Supporting Actor winner Alan Arkin arrived to present the long series of clips, mostly from the last twenty years before presenting the prize for Best Supporting Actress to a clearly stunned Tilda Swinton for her performance in Michael Clayton. Her speech was classy and dignified despite being clearly shaken and without appropriate preparation.

Jessica Alba presented the Sci-Tech awards ceremony clip as would the mannequin personality she’s developed in all of her big screen outings.

Jon Stewart’s comments about the next pair of presenters were quite apropos and they were easily the best of the night. Presenting the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay, Josh Brolin and James McAvoy wittily presented their clunky lines and gave out the first of the Coen Brothers’ awards for adapting Cormac McCarthy’s critically-maligned novel.

Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took the stage next and did something that is uncommon for those who’ve held his position in the past. He presented a clip explaining how the Academy’s nomination and award selection process is handled. While the video was a bit light on the technical proficiency, it was nevertheless illuminating…for anyone not already familiar with the process. It would have been nice if they’d explained that irritating preferential system they have, but that might have taken an hour or so.

The Hollywood non-entity (come on, she’s not even a film star!) Miley Cyrus presented the next Original Song contender, sung by Broadway sensation Kristen Chenoweth and Enchanted‘s reggae artist Marlon Saunders. “That’s How You Know” is amazingly catchy when heard within the film, but produced on the stage, it seems a bit unexceptional. The orchestral arrangement wasn’t as boisterous as the film and the stage-bound limitation of the dancers made it feel boxed-in. However, Chenoweth’s beautiful vocals helped fill the void, but would have been better had the sound guys not drowned her powerful voice out with the orchestra and backgrounds.

The show was proceeding pleasantly enough up to that point. Nothing terribly egregious had happened ceremonially or in the presentation of awards, but then Stewart announced Dame Judi Dench and Halle Berry would be taking the stage. Shortly thereafter, we were forced to listen to Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen stumble through a clumsy dialogue about who would get to “be” Halle Berry. Had it lasted longer than just the presentation for Sound Editing to The Bourne Ultimatum, it might have been less intolerable, but when they continued their horrendous contretemps into the Sound Mixing award also going to Bourne.

Thankfully the gracious and calm Forest Whitaker followed it up to present the award for Best Actress. When Marion Cotillard was announced as the winner, all those who had hoped for a Julie Christie win would cry out in pain, but all those who thought she did a phenomenal job in La Vie en Rose were completely pleased. Her ebullient speech was one of the most memorable of the night and didn’t feel rehearsed as so many other such speeches have sounded in the past.

Colin Farrell was next on the scene to present the fourth Original Song nominee of the night. He introduced fellow countryman Glen Hansard and his songwriting partner Marketa Irglova who sang the wonderful “Falling Slowly” for a joy-filled audience who generated some very powerful applause.

The Oscar show’s production designer, Roy Christopher, finally came through with the minimalist set for the song from Once. Guitars were hung in the background as Irglova played the piano and Hansard played the guitar, each singing. While not a full reproduction of the scene from the film, it felt entirely appropriate and provided one of the great visual moments of the night.

Jack Nicholson took to the stage to present a long montage of the Academy’s previous 79 Best Picture winners. Warts and all, we experienced the triumphs (Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler’s List and All Quiet on the Western Front) along with the massive failures (The Greatest Show on Earth, Crash and Braveheart). It’s difficult to show a lot of clips in such a short time and with so many winners, it seemed rushed, but sufficient.

Following this up was the award for Best Film Editing. It was presented by Renee Zellweger who smiled her puckered grin as she gave the clean-sweep final award to The Bourne Ultimatum.

Nicole Kidman, classy as always, presented the tribute to the year’s Honorary Oscar winner Robert Boyle, which carefully and enthusiastically pointed out why he was getting such a prestigious honor (the first non-director/actor/producer to have received such an honor without being associated with a particular film). Boyle’s speech, while a little too long, was nonetheless emotional. The 98-year-old’s voice was so smooth and clear that it seems certain he’ll be around long into his hundreds.

For the umpteenth time, Penelope Cruz presented the Best Foreign Language Film award. Why they can’t find other international stars to present this trophy is beyond me, but I’m getting tired of seeing Cruz or Salma Hayek every year. How about going with older, Oscar-winning international artists or perhaps not even ghettoizing the award and letting it be presented by an American and give the foreign-born actors presentorships for other categories?

Patrick Dempsey presented the final Original Song nominee of the evening. Jon McLaughlin sang his heart out while dancers whirled in front of him, including stand-ins for the film’s leads. “So Close” sounds much better when isolated as such, for in Enchanted, the song was utterly forgettable.

Once the final song had been heard, John Travolta waltzed out onto the stage, literally, with one of the dancers from the “So Close” number. There, he presented the Oscar for Original Song to Hansard and Irglova. The applause from the audience was such that the night would not hear again. It was loud and proud as if they were the only possible victors. This could have been carry over from their fantastic performance, but Hansard’s speech resulted in the same kind of applause. However, Bill Conti was on a role and cut off Irglova who was about to take the mic.

Then, giving the night one of the best surprises, Jon Stewart escorted Irglova back out on stage shortly thereafter to finish her speech. The decision and her speech incurred even more celebratory applause. It was one of those Oscar moments that you can’t and shouldn’t easily forget. Too bad the rest of the show didn’t have those kinds of moments.

Cameron Diaz came out to present the Cinematography award, flubbing the word several times before slowly spitting them out before presenting the prize to Robert Elswit for his stunning work on There Will Be Blood, the film’s first award of evening, matching the usually-wrong American Society of Cinematographers. His tribute to art directors and director Paul Thomas Anderson was great, but when he moved on to thanking Daniel Day-Lewis, it seemed like he might just be getting as much word out for the film in case it lost too many more awards.

Hilary Swank proclaimed the following In Memoriam tribute to be one that included Hollywood veterans and performers lost too soon. Sadly, the only young film personality listed was Heath Ledger who finished the list. The seg also featured a tag saying that only deaths between February 1, 2007 and January 31, 2008 were included so as not to chafe too many butts when they notably excluded Roy Scheider who died earlier this month. This was it. Two-second clips of all 98 of the dearly departed. Very few earned more than five seconds and all of them were presented over music that didn’t seem terribly mournful. And there were no other tributes in the show, so this meager offering was all there was. Let’s not even discuss the myriad performers that weren’t included, it’s enough to make you regret the sequence each year.

Original Score was presented next by Enchanted thesp Amy Adams who announced the night’s only award for Atonement, which she presented to Dario Marianelli.

The Documentary awards came next. First up, as Tom Hanks introduced, was the Short Subject category. Five soldiers in Iraq presented all-too-brief clips of the nominated shorts and then presented the award to Freeheld. The delicious irony of the victory was that American soldiers presented an award that went to a documentary about gay rights. I’m sure you can figure out why that’s moderately humorous. It was also a shock, for the Academy has ignored several similar productions in the past, so it wasn’t even much on the radar.

It was probably best that the soldiers didn’t present the second documentary award for features for it would have been even more embarrassing considering the winner. And not to mention the fact that three of the docs were about the Iraq war and only one of them was in any way positive about the affair. And the winner was the most biting of them all. Taxi to the Dark Side became the most controversial doc to win the category in history. It examines the torture of Iraqi citizens by American soldiers, a subject that has been largely ignored by American media in fear of it being considered anti-American.

As the show moved, it became obvious that Queen Latifah wasn’t going to present as she had been announced. Instead, the next four trophies were presented by individuals with significantly more gravitas. The first was given out by Harrison Ford, obviously stumping for his new Indiana Jones film, though why he didn’t present with his on-screen son, and hot-actor-of-the-day Shia LaBeouf is anyone’s guess.

Ford gave the award for Original Screenplay to Diablo Cody for the film Juno, the film’s only award of the night. Her speech was hardly exceptional, but her rather embarrassing outfit and tattoo hanging out in plain view were distracting and moderately distasteful. She really did look like she was once an exotic dancer, but even they would have dressed up for the occasion.

Helen Mirren came out next to present the final acting award of the night. The montage that preceded the prize for Best Actor lingered on Daniel Day-Lewis’ first Oscar win while completely ignoring the victory of Roberto Benigni, the buffoon who danced on chairs before going up on stage to accept an Oscar that should have gone to the more subtle and sublime Ian McKellen. After the Gooding Jr. highlight, I was sure he would be there. Thankfully, he was not.

Day-Lewis had long been the front-runner and he carried through on that acclaim to claim his second Best Actor trophy, a record for a non-American. His impassioned speech was good, but it went on a bit longer than it should have and twisted at the end into thanks that seemed unnecessary.

Martin Scorsese re-started the tradition of Best Director winners returning to present the same prize the following year. As expected, he gave the trophy to Joel and Ethan Coen who became the first brother pair to win directing Oscars and only the second pair to take home the prize in history (after Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story).

With that prize in the bag and three trophies in its war chest, it was clear that Denzel Washington would read off the name of the Coen Brothers genre thriller. No Country for Old Men was indeed named Best Picture of the year, shocking no one and giving Scott Rudin an Oscar (and Joel and Ethan Coen their third of the night). He was allowed to speak for the entirety since the other two had already had their shots. While his claims of “surprise” were a bit self-aggrandizing, his lengthy speech allowed him to acknowledge his lover, an Oscar first in that category.

When the show wrapped up more than twenty minutes beyond its scheduled conclusion, Jon Stewart emerged as another in a long line of decent, if unspectacular Oscar hosts. The show itself was rather banal and its winners hardly worth noting. For an anniversary year, it was absolutely disappointing.