Oscar Show Review: Why So Awful?

Posted February 28, 2011 by Max in Featured

Hathaway and Franco

What was up with Franco anyways?
Can we scrap Best Song next year?
Why was the Best Picture montage narrated by the Best Picture Winner? Anticlimactic much?
Why pick ‘The King’s Speech‘ when your whole campaign is supposed to be geared towards a younger audience?

This year the Oscars tried to appeal to a young and hip crowd. Casting two younger stars, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, looked good on paper but so wrong in practice. After the opening segment, which James Franco appeared to be more concerned with texting than hosting, he looked stoned and uncomfortable the whole night. Whereas Anne Hathaway tried to keep the audiences attention, but only succeeded when she referenced her Oscar duet with Hugh Jackman two years ago.

The only wins from the night included showing the clips from films the actors were nominated from like they did years ago and the stage was awe-inspiring with its multi-layered film design.

I believe the Oscars played it too safe with their hosts to not offend the guests, a la the Golden Globes. I hope next years show can be better without having the best segment be auto-tuning the Oscars.

Here’s what other critics had to say about the Oscars courtesy of Dailymail:

The bad…

‘Their prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful at times.’
The New York Times

‘Despite an overall rewarding of brilliant performances and no truly shocking didn’t-see-that-coming upsets, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards will likely be remembered as the night James Franco couldn’t act like a host.’
The Hollywood Reporter

‘At least Hathaway was in there pitching throughout – unlike her co-host, who sometimes seemed to be preparing for a remake of Dazed and Confused.’
USA Today

‘The two seemed to be following the directive to “first do no harm” – the result was a show that moved along, with a few draggy bits and high notes, like precisely what it was: a very long and fancy awards show.’
The LA Times

‘Hathaway worked her derriere off and Franco came off like that lacrosse boy you wish your daughter didn’t hang out with so much, sort of heavy-lidded and smirky.’
The Washington Post

‘The pair failed to find the chemistry that would lead to their partnership being remembered as a success – or indeed to be remembered at all.’
BBC News

And the good…

‘Funny, poised, relaxed, and smart, Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts. Their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night.’
Entertainment Weekly