Academy Awards gets people talking - and that's what counts

It was a night of glitz, glamour, wonderful speeches…and men in dresses.The 83rd Annual Academy Awards took place Sunday night, and even though the show ran on for more than three hours, that didn't stop people from talking about it afterward. People fled to their social feeds to gossip about their favorite, and well, least favorite wins of the night. Many watch the award shows to see their favorite celebrities and find out what designer made the dresses they were wearing; others just watch it for the surprises and scandal. Every great and prominent award show requires one thing to be truly successful: great and prominent hosts. Anne Hathaway, the youngest host in Oscar's history, and James Franco, who co-hosted along with being a nominee that evening, guided the very prestigious award show. There have definitely been mixed reviews, with some going as far as saying they failed, while others believe they did the best that they could given the circumstances - I have to agree with the latter. Hathaway and Franco are wonderful actors, who while being young, have definitely established that they are a force to be reckoned with. That being said, hosts of award shows seem to achieve more success and higher accolade when they come from a more comedic background. In the example of Billy Crystal, who made an appearance and received the most praise of almost anyone appearing on the show that evening, it becomes apparent that audiences enjoy a host who can give them a good laugh, while remaining relevant and maintaining a level of class. Many have mixed opinions on Franco's decision to come out wearing a dress - honestly, it was in good fun, and to me that was just his way of being comical. No, it wasn't in the traditional way that comedians will crack their jokes, but for Hathaway and Franco, I think it worked. While the hosts were a major topic of conversation after the award show, there was another thing that people could not stop talking about: the F bomb. Melissa Leo won the award for best supporting actress for her role in "The Fighter," and when she stepped up to give her acceptance speech, she uttered the F bomb. After she said the word, she quickly covered her mouth and appeared to be shocked at what she had just said. The actress has since apologized for the slip up, and claimed it just "slipped out." To me, it wasn't a huge deal. They were able to censor the word out for the public audience, thus causing a lot less commotion. While both of those were hot subjects, you can't discuss the Oscars without discussing the big winners of the night. "The King's Speech" took the award for best picture, along with a handful of other awards including lead actor and the director's award. For many, this was somewhat of a shock as "The Social Network" was the supposed front-runner for best picture. While this was disappointing to some, even more so was "True Grit," which ended up 0-10 on the night. Jeff Bridges didn't win the lead actor award either for his role in the movie, but hopefully his win for "Crazy Heart" from one year prior took a little of the sting off. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards was a good show overall, and whether it was favored or hated, it definitely leaves a lot of moments for the audience to debate and discuss…and watch over and over again.

********** Published: March 3, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 46