UPDATE: Oscars lowest rated Academy Awards on record reports that this year's Academy Awards telecast plummeted in its viewership 20% - behind the Super Bowl, NFL games and even an "American Idol" episode - a real comedown for the entertainment world's premiere event.
The 80th Annual Academy Awards or Oscars are in the history books - and as with most telecasts there were winners, losers and a few strange moments.
Clearly it was a huge night for the Coen brothers whose "No Country for Old Men" based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, swept the best picture, director and adapted screenplay as well as best supporting actor by Javier Bardem.
As predicted, Daniel Day-Lewis, an actor of great range as demonstrated by his two wins - for "My Left Foot" where he played an essentially powerless man who rose up over terrific disability and "There Will Be Blood" where he portrays a powerful oil baron - are testament to his acting chops - he rarely makes a bad or uninteresting movie and is magnetic - remember "Last of the Mohicans" as well for his magnetism.
The surprise for best actress was the homage to French chanteuse Edith Piaf with the actress Marion Cotillard picking up the best actress for her role in "La Vie En Rose" - and it seemed a number of other French productions were in the running in various categories.
Diablo Coady, the former stripper who wrote the original screenplay for "Juno" - inventing much of the faux teen hipster dialogue out of her own mind - and then thanked all the writers whom she says she is still learning from - was a refreshingly ironic moment. The movie played a bit as if it were all made up, and this Cinderella story is almost better than the picture itself.
One loser has to be Jon Stewart who cannot cut and run behind a writers' strike for the faux irony and very unfunny delivery throughout the evening. He seems a fish out of water without the friendly confines of his audience to cheer him along without question. The acceptance speeches of recipients, however rambling, would have been more interesting than these sorry attempts at coolness.
The nominated song performances were stronger than some years - with the winning song from the low budget film "Once" taking the Oscar for Glen Hansard of the Irish band the Frames and Marketa Irglova for the song "Falling Slowly" - and the hearts of the audience. However, all the song performers acquited themselves well - there were no Rob Lowe and Snow White or other tacky performances there.
Speaking of tacky, Irglova started to make her acceptance speech and was rudely interrupted by the orchestra hustling of winners off stage. It was so embarrassing that she was invited back to give her heartfelt thanks - which was far better than the rest of the blather from the elite cognescenti...
"The fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible," Irglova said during take two. "And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream, and don't give up. This song was written from the perspective of hope, and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are."
The inclusion of the troops from Baghdad to announce one of the documentary categories made on think that rather than going to acting school, presenters and actors might do better to enlist for a tour or two - these young people were far more confident and poised than some of the presenters and recipients who seemed clueless and classless in their remarks. The juxtoposition of the following category of longer documentaries with too many of the subjects at odds with the mission of the troops was jarring - would it be too much to ask Hollywood to have some balance and present a film of our troops' heroism at some point in time?
Oscar winning song "Falling Slowly" from the film "Once"...
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