The major award show season honoring the best films and actors of 2012 officially came to a close last night at the 85th Annual Academy Awards.
This year’s show was hosted by comedian, Seth MacFarlane, and paid tribute to classic movie musicals. Despite MacFarlane’s successful career as an edgy comedian, including his animated series, “Family Guy” and last year’s box office smash, “Ted,” he had a hard time getting laughs out of the A-List actors that filled the room of the Dolby Theater.
Almost as if the producers predicted the kind of reaction the audience would have, William Shatner made an appearance at the beginning of the show as Captain Kirk from the future, warning MacFarlane that he’d be remembered as the “worst Oscar host ever” if he didn’t make a few changes. Unfortunately, not even Captain Kirk could save MacFarlane from himself.
The first musical number of the night was a song all about boobs in which MacFarlane listed the names of starlets in the room such as Halle Berry and Charlize Theron who had bared it all on-screen. When a cut-away to Theron was flashed onscreen, it was obvious she was all but pleased about the shoutout.
There were jokes throughout the night that elicited gasps or no reaction at all from the crowd including a comment about how the nominated film, “Django Unchained” is “a story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who’s been subjected to unthinkable violence, or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.” As well as a joke about Latino actors and how “we have no idea what they’re saying but we don’t care because they’re so attractive.” Those were just a few of the unsettling remarks that caused awkward moments instead of comedic relief.
However, there were also many moments that movie-buffs everywhere can appreciate. Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron were the first celebs to hit the stage during the opening musical number. The duo danced to “The Way You Look Tonight”, sung by MacFarlane. Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon Levitt were also a part of the opening and performed a song and dance number as well.
The tribute to some of the most memorable movie musicals of the past decade was also a shining moment from the show. The musicals were all honored with performances from the stars of the films including Catherine Zeta Jones (“Chicago”), Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), and the cast of “Les Miserables.”
There was also a tribute to the James Bond series in which the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey took the stage to perform the song, “Goldfinger.”
As far as the winners go, there weren’t many surprises or upsets, but the winners and nominees of this year’s Oscars made it one of the most historic. Daniel Day Lewis won the Best Lead Actor award for his role in “Lincoln”, making him the first-ever three-time-winner of that category. Taking home her first Oscar, this year’s Best Lead Actress award went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Nominated with Lawrence were the oldest (Emanuelle Riva, 86) and youngest (Quvenzhané Wallis, 9) ladies that have ever been nominated for Best Actress.
Christoph Waltz of “Django Unchained” took home his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Anne Hathaway won her first for Best Supporting Actress in “Les Miserables.”
The award for Best Picture went to “Argo,” which made history as the first film since 1989, and only the fourth film in history, to win the category without having its director at least nominated in the Best Director category. The Academy has received lots of criticism for not recognizing “Argo” director, and lead actor, Ben Affleck. The award for Best Director ended up going to Ang Lee, the man behind the film “Life of Pi.”
Despite the lackluster hosting job of Seth MacFarlane, the heavy star power that was in attendance, as well as the memorable musical performances, gave this year’s Oscars its most glorious moments. The show even topped last year’s telecast in ratings by 19 percent.
To view the full list of winners and clips from the 85th Annual Academy Awards, you can go to http://oscar.go.com/.
Jennifer Lawrence, with her award for best actress in a leading role for "Silver Linings Playbook," and Anne Hathaway with her award for best actress in a supporting role for "Les Miserables," pose during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)
