2006 Academy Awards

Mira Sorvino, presenter

Did Jon Bomb?

In a word, no. Conventional wisdom would have it that 'outsiders' bomb on Oscar night, and recent years would tend to bear that out. So many previous show hosts turned down the 'honor' this year that there was considerable relief when Jon Stewart actually accepted the job.

It's a decision each host has to make, whether to play to the thousands live in the theater or the tens or hundreds of millions watching on TV, and Stewart chose - wisely, I think - to play to the home crowd.

Example: On returning from a commercial break, Stewart appears to be caught telling the crowd that scientology 'isn't just right for Hollywood, it's right for America!' Then he apparently notices that he's live again and gives the camera a sheepish grin. The crowd in the seats at the Kodak Theater were mildly amused. I howled. It wasn't my ox getting gored, you see.

Yes, Stewart's humor was milder than his Daily Show scripts; it might have been funnier if he had taken aim at a few more Hollywood sacred cows. Still...Jon! You did OK! Okay?

Funniest Schtick

The bogus commercials purporting to be in support of the various actresses nominated, which were classic political-style 'attack' ads a la the 'Swiftboat Veterans for Truth', were funny stuff.

Runner-up - the film montage of clips from old Westerns, showing how homoerotic even these old films were. Hilarious.

Best Presenters

Best presenter awards have to go to Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep, introducing Life-Time Achievement winner Robert Altman. First Meryl interrupted Lily to tell her she was reading her (Meryl's) lines. Then she repeated what Lily said. "That's what I just said." "I know, I'm agreeing with you." And they were off, interrupting one another, echoing and talking over one another in a hilarious tribute to Altmanesque dialog.

As the crowd caught on, giggles began to grow into laughter, until the pair collapsed in each other's arms, having successfully navigated the piece. It may have been cleverly choreographed and extensively rehearsed, but it came across as brilliant improvisation. Sadly, from other reviews, it's not clear that everyone got it. Most thought it was funny, but some didn't know why.

Worst 2006 Academy Awards Idea

Ben Stiller, in a green jumpsuit, pretending that, through the miracle of green-screen technology, he appeared to be a disembodied head. Who thought that was funny?

Best Winners of the 2006 Academy Awards

Three 6 Mafia, who won for best song, It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp. This occasioned the best overheard line in a chatroom I was visiting during the show, "Okay, I'm officially Old. A Rap Song just won the best song Oscar" and led to the best adlib, as Jon Stewart said "You know what? I think it just got a little easier out here for a pimp."

Runners-up, the producers of The March of the Penguins, who carried their three-foot stuffed penguins with them to the podium and thanked the academy in broken, yet adorable, English. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for accents?

Most Over-Hyped Theme

Yeah, yeah. Movies are better in theaters than on DVDs. We get it.

Where Have You Been All My Life Award

George Clooney

From me to George Clooney. I knew he was handsome, but when did he get so adorable?

Brokeback Backlash?

Brokeback Mountain, nominated for eight awards, won a mere three, and only one major award, Ang Lee's director's nod. (It also won best adapted screenplay and best score.)

Was Hollywood playing it safe with the 2006 Acadamy Awards? Retreating to honor twenty-year-old 'messages' like 'racism is bad'? Some reviewers certainly thought so. In fact, LA gossip blog Defamer, who was live-blogging the show, ended their coverage with:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! God help us all. The sky has opened, Beezlebub has dumped his infernal payload of obvious evil on an unsuspecting Earth. Life as we know it is over. Drive to the desert and start a new civilization, hoping that our horrible, horrible mistakes will not be repeated. This is the end, friends. See you in Hell.

They didn't even bother posting the name of the winner.

And The Winner Is...

• Best Picture: Crash
• Best Director: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
• Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote
• Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line
• Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener
• Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney for Syriana
• Best Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco for Crash
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry for Brokeback Mountain
• Best Original Song: Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard: It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp from Hustle & Flow
• Best Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain