Monday, February 27, 2012

Crystal Clear

courtesy of zennie62 of Flickr
Monday February 27, 2:36 p.m.

Well, saw my first Oscar ceremony in decades, and my very first in its entirety ever. Just to see how Billy Crystal fared...coming in from the cold, so to speak.
Actually, it was pretty pain-free, all things told. Not an arduous experience as it clocked in at 3 hours and 15 minutes...pretty zippy for an Oscars considering what some of these marathons have been like in the past....and a good part of it is due to Crystal.
I would give Billy a B or B+. He would've gotten an A if that creaky opening montage and song routine had been excised or actually funny. I know that this was something that had been used before to good effect, but after watching it, it just seemed that it has passed its best-by date. And the thing about him coming back as the host being woven into the montage seemed a bit too self-congratulatory for my tastes.
Still, considering what I've heard about recent hosts for the Oscars such as last year's Anne Hathaway and James Franco, having Billy Crystal come back for another stab at the podium was an injection of comfort and security.
It was great to see Canadian Christopher Plummer get his Oscar at last, Angelina Jolie show her right leg, and "The Artist"get its due as the first Best Movie since the very first Best Movie to get the top prize as a silent movie. It's the only nominee of the bunch that I would actually look forward to seeing.