by Neena Louise
Worst Dressed
Melissa Leo
Tough choice this year, with all the tablecloths (Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman) and spacesuits (Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow). Leo takes it for combining the two: a starched lace tablecloth with bits of mirror stuck on it.
Best Dressed
Hailee Steinfeld
A teenager – OMG – dressed as a teenager (and she looked stunning). How refreshing.
Worst Accessory
Natalie Portman’s earrings
It appeared that Portman was wearing curtain pull-cord tassels in her ears.
Best Accessory
Mila Kunis’ earrings
The blinged-out teardrop earrings gave me earring-envy.
Worst Hair
Russell Brand
He looked like an extra from Planet of the Apes.
Runner-up
Christian Bale
Not for the hair on his head, but for that silly bear rug hanging off his face. It was impossible to take him seriously.
Best Hair
Amy Adams
Adams’ simple swept-back ‘do looked lovely. Her 1980s makeup on the other hand…
Least Charming
Russell Brand
I guess he was trying to be funny, but his rambling nonsensical blather in the pre-show was just…stupid.
Most Charming
Jennifer Lawrence
Down-to-earth and not taking herself too seriously, she was a breath of fresh air on the red carpet.
Worst Acceptance Speech
Colleen Atwood (Costume Design, Alice in Wonderland)
Pulling out a piece of paper and reading it word-for-word is never a good idea at the Oscars. Considering this isn’t Atwood’s first time (and she’s done the same thing before), she really should have known better.
Best Acceptance Speech
David Seidler (Original Screenplay, The King’s Speech)
Starting off by poking fun at his age ("my mother told me I’d be a late bloomer"), Seidler kept it short and sweet.
Worst Song Presentation
Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi ("I See the Light", Tangled)
Slightly off-key and shaky, it wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either.
Best Song Presentation
Randy Newman ("We Belong Together", Toy Story 3)
Just Newman at a piano, with Toy Story 3 clips projected in the background. Most enjoyable.
Worst Shout-Out
Anne Hathaway’s stupid and unfunny song about having to sing alone after supposedly being ditched by Hugh Jackman. Whatever.
Best Shout-Out
James Franco, dressed in a violent pink dress and blonde wig, saying "Weird part is, I just got a text message from Charlie Sheen."
Least Deserving of an Oscar Nomination
The Illusionist (Animated Feature).
Has anyone ever even heard of this film before? Didn’t think so.
Most Deserving of an Oscar Nomination
Hailee Steinfeld (Supporting Actress, True Grit)
Very accomplished for one so young, let’s hope she stays that way and doesn’t become famous for being infamous.
Least Deserving of an Oscar
Christian Bale (Supporting Actor, The Fighter)
I don’t know why everyone seems to think Bale is so marvelous. He hasn’t been good in anything since Empire of the Sun in 1987.
Most Deserving of an Oscar
Rick Baker and Dave Elsey (Makeup, The Wolfman)
The most gnarly makeup job I’ve seen in a very long time.
Least Surprising Winner
Toy Story 3 (Animated Feature)
Most Surprising Winner
Melissa Leo (Supporting Actress, The Fighter).
Leo seemed just as surprised, as she dropped the F-bomb during her acceptance speech. Whoever had their finger on the bleep button must have been asleep at the switch, since the bleep came after she said it (which was almost as funny).
Worst Presenters
Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis
One word: awkward!
Best Presenters
Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law
Their back-and-forth and frenemy act actually made me laugh.
Worst Reaction of a Winner
Lora Hirshberg (Sound Mixing, Inception)
Her "I’m Miss America" stroll to the stage (despite her butt-ugly dress) and "what-up" fist pump once she got there made her appear to be anything but honored.
Best Reaction of a Winner
Melissa Leo (Supporting Actress, The Fighter)
Looking genuinely surprised and thrilled, Leo could barely contain herself. Oh, and did you hear she dropped the F-bomb during her speech??
Biggest Loser
The Social Network
Sure, it won three Oscars, but lost all the big ones to The King’s Speech. I guess we’ll have to wait for Mark Zuckerberg to steal something else to get an Oscar-worthy Facebook movie.
One of the shortest (at just over 3 hours), this year’s Oscar broadcast was miles better than last year. I feared the worst when we were tortured by a 90-minute preshow. I know people want to see who is wearing what, but did we need a 90-minute fashion show before one of the longest awards shows of the year? Or the stupid the "Justin Timberlake tracking" thing? Half an hour in, and I wished they’d just get on with it already. The moms talking about their celebrity kids was cute, though.
Hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco did an adequate job. Their opening monologue was unfunny and somewhat cringe-worthy, but they got better as the evening progressed (their matching 1000-watt smiles didn’t hurt). I got plenty weary of the "younger demographic" thing being oft-mentioned during the evening, though. So…what, you don’t want "old" people watching? Or winning (David Seidler, anyone)? Give me a break.
The stage was actually attractive for a change, but seemed woefully underutilized during much of the broadcast (the coolest thing was Bob Hope being projected onto plexiglass at a podium). I was also happy to see song performances put back in and the awkward gushing about actors and actresses taken out. Unlike last year, you could thankfully see the "In Memoriam" honorees, but why in the world was Lena Horne singled out? Yes, she is an important figure in entertainment, but does that mean she was better than the rest that have passed? I was a little put off by that. And I still don’t understand the purpose of mentioning past winners over and over again (Gone with the Wind, Titanic, etc., etc.) and going on and on about the television broadcast. It’s not like this was some milestone Oscar year, so who gives a rat’s ass about winners in years past? They should’ve focused exclusively on this year’s honorees. Disrespect aside, this Oscar broadcast shows that there’s hope yet that an entertainment awards show can be, well, entertaining.
For those who missed them:
Picture: The King’s Speech, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Foreign Language Film: In a Better World (Denmark), Susanne Bier
Cinematography: Inception, Wally Pfister
Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Documentary Feature: Inside Job, Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
Documentary Short Subject: Strangers No More, Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon
Live Action Short Film: God of Love, Luke Matheny
Film Editing: The Social Network, Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
Makeup: The Wolfman, Rick Baker, Dave Elsey
Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
Sound Mixing: Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, Ed Novick
Sound Editing: Inception, Richard King
Visual Effects: Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
Original Score: The Social Network, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Original Song: "We Belong Together", Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich
Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann
About Michael