POST OSCAR THOUGHTS

  All in all, it wasn't a bad show.  It is what it is.  Try as they may - the producers of the telecast - there's not much new they can come up with to
make the Oscars more entertaining for the viewing audience.
  Billy Crystal's opening was delightful.  Why some critics thought Crystal's
selection to replace Eddie Murphy (who would have been awful) as M.C.
was a mistake is beyond me.  Granted, Crystal is 63, but he's still funny as hell, a great mimic and delightfully spontaneous. 
  Some critics say the emphasis on showing clips from classic movies only
underscores the suggestion that the film industry has seen better days -
audiences are dwindling and the quality of the films being made these days leave something to be desired.  That may be true, but I still thrill
at the montages of great moments in film that are shown during the
Oscars telecast.  I wish there were more.
  I enjoyed the Cirque du Soleil production and only wish I could have been in the audience to watch it.  It must have been a gas to see it inside the 'Bankruptcy 11' theatre where the telecast took place.  It was simply terrific and a real treat to behold.
  There were even a few 'moments' during the telecast.  Octavia Spencer's acceptance speech as best supporting actress was emotionally satisfying and real.  I shed a few tears while she tried to contain her emotions and express her gratitude.  She richly deserved her Oscar.
  And Christopher Plummer finally got it down.  After several meandering
acceptance speeches at previous award ceremonies (Globes, SAG, Spirit),  he was charming, witty, warm and (thankfully) relatively brief.
I applaud his acknowledgement of his co-star, Ewan MacGregor, who gave a wonderful performance in Beginners, the film for which Plummer
won his Oscar.  MacGregor is one of my favorite actors and vastly
underrated.  In any case, Plummer was sincere and truly deserving of his
Oscar.  Now when we think of him, it will be for Beginners and not for
The Sound of Music, a film he appeared in and despised.
  I was surprised when Tom Cruise (looking hot) announced Meryl Streep's name for best actress.  Poor Viola Davis.  It would have been
thrilling if Cruise had announced there was a tie between Streep and Davis and both received Oscars.  It happened before (Barbara Streisand and Katherine Hepburn tied for best actress in 1968 - Streisand for Funny Girl and Hepburn for The Lion in Winter - the story goes that Streisand became an Academy member only weeks before ballots were
distributed; Hepburn, we're told, never voted thru the years but
Streisand presumably did and voted for herself, thus tying Hepburn for the Oscar). 
  In any case, Streep gave a heartfelt acceptance speech although I was surprised that she didn't acknowledge her fellow nominees, especially
Davis.  Maybe it was better that she didn't.
  My only disappointment as far as categories are concerned was with
the original score.  The Artist won but Hugo deserved the Oscar for its
lovely score, one of the finest I have ever heard in a film.  Subtle, sweet,
and never obvious (unlike the bloated John Williams score for War Horse), it worked beautifully in the film.
  And the only category in which someone was robbed was for make-up
with The Iron Lady taking the Oscar (for doing one face) over the team
that did 100s of faces to bring the final chapter of Harry Potter to life.
  Poor Harry Potter.  Lost in the 3 technical categories it was nominated for and ignored by the Academy in every other category, including best picture.
  Possibly the fact that the average age of Academy members is 63 is reason enough why the best film of 2011 (Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows, Pt. 2) was ignored.  Potter deserved noms for
supporting actor, adapted screenplay, cinematography, costumes, editing, sound editing, film editing, original score and BEST FUCKING
PICTURE.
  Let's hope that next year's best film nominations give us something to be excited about.  Lord knows this year's films didn't.
  See ya at the multiplex which remains the best venue to see movies in.