The Academy Awards Recap

Even though I am not a serious movie-goer, I always enjoy watching the Academy Awards show because of a few things.  I like seeing the Hollywood celebrities get all dressed up.  Well, not really.  I watch the award shows to see which women lookreally good or awful in the gowns that they are wearing.  I watch to see who shows up intoxicated, or worse, gets interviewed while intoxicated.  I am usually rewarded in my diligence by some idiot who, while not reading a script, for once, says something really in appropriate and gets by the delay-silencer.

Last night, however, I was disappointed to a certain degree, by the fact that so many people behaved so well, and didn't look really horrible (except for Nicole Kidman, who looked like a corpse, and Sarah Jessica Parker, who looked like Sarah Jessica Parker eesh!).  I will say for the record that the following people looked really nice:  Kate Winslet, Taraji P. Henderson (A native Washingtonian... Washington, DC that is), Viola Davis, and Amy Adams.  If you noted the lack of dudes in that group... well, that's because Gunfighter doesn't roll like that, and really, as long as your Tuxedo is cleaned, pressed, fits well, and doesn't have a red cumberbund, all the guys will look essentially the same.

Now, there weren't any celebrity gaffes on the Red Carpet that I noticed, although, I tend to fast-forward past the people that don't interest me... so if I missed something, I apologize in advance.  Because I am a nice fellow, I won't mention the interviewer who asked Robert Downey jr. who his date was for the evening.  Turns out that it was Mrs.Robert Downey jr.  Oops.

OK, the show starts... Hugh Jackman is hosting?  Cool.  A good departure.  I am more than a little tired of the Conan/Whoopi/Billy Crystal thing that they had going on for a while, and, as much as I love Ellen DeGeneres, she is a bit hard to wear for three hours.  So Jackman makes the usual patter and breaks into the opening number, which was quite good.

I'm not going to bother with a run-down of who won which award, because if you really care, you already know.  I will say this, however I am glad that Slumdog Millionaire won the Best Picture award, just because I hate sure-things.

Oh, and if I never hear the name Heath Ledger again, I won't be upset at all.

The highlights for the evening were:  Meryl Streep (just because I love Meryl Streep), and Hugh Jackman's ode the the musical.  The rest of the show I could have done without.

Truthfully, the best part of the show happened before the show really got started.  When Mickey Rourke walked the red carpet, looking absolutely horrible in that monstrosity of a white tuxedo, an interviewer spoke to him about his dog, Loki.  Rourke spoke briefly, but with emotion aboutthe death of his 18 year old dog, and that he would gladly trade an Oscar to have more time with her.  Whatever Mickey Rourke has done in his life, in my book, he is forgiven.  Any man... especially a man, who can communicate his love for his pets like Rourke did, is alright in my book.  For me, Mickey Rourke was the winner of the evening

Good on you, Mickey, and Godspeed to you, Loki.