Getting on with the Show - Oscars 2012

The Oscars show this year wasn't terribly interesting and it felt long as the hours drew on, but on the bright side, the jokes got better as the show progressed.

At the start of the show, I found Justin Bieber's appearance somewhat funny. It's been a while (yes, it's possible!) since I last saw or read anything about him, and it's still amusing to see Bieber Fever in action. Tom Cruise's appearance was a surprise but I don't know when he'll ever recover from his frenzied love declaration days. Probably never.

I wonder how these Oscar invites work. How is it that JLo has a front row seat when she's first and foremost a singer and hasn't acted in any movies for a while, while Natalie Portman has to sit in the second row, behind the Cloonio, such that everytime the camera panned to him (which was plenty), you see her laughing and adorably popping up next to him. 

I laughed out loud on the Melissa McCarthy skit with Bily Crystal - it was very apt, well-written and delivered with good comic timing. I can't say the same for the Bridesmaids entourage when they appeared on stage. I was getting excited to see them all together but their jokes and antics fell flat. This is why you leave the comic writing to SNL veterans.

Some other bright spots:

- Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's win for Best Documentary Saving Face and her acceptance speech, which was articulate, salient and profiled the eloquence and struggles of women in Pakistan today.

- Christopher Guest and his usual comedic gang. I love Best in Show and it was good to see them all together again. Which reminds me that it's been too long since they did a show together and it's high time they got to it. I'll like to see Jane Lynch take a break from Glee and come back to the troops.

- Cirque du Soleil was amazing, I have never seen a Cirque performance and not enjoyed it. Although why they had to cut from the spectacular acrobatic work to show footage of the Cloon-master and his Keebs watching it baffles me.

- Emma Stone and Ben Stiller's segment was kind of funny. I wonder if she was doing a parody of Anne Hathaway, which would have been kind of a low-blow. For a young star like her, I think she commanded the crowd quite well, what with all the pressure from the A-listers out there who were probably not inclined to laugh at her jokes in the first place. 

- Billy Crystal's "What the Stars are Thinking" skit got some teeny laughs out of me. You can see he's warming up a bit more, and the stars looked suitably petrified when they realized they were the next ones up. And of course the stars all reacted accordingly, which is When in Doubt, Just Laugh.

And that's about it. Till the next Oscar season, here's the Oscars 2012 Winners List:

The Red Carpet - Oscars 2012

Let me start off with the red carpet before I go into the ceremony itself, which was largely a snooze fest, save for a few good moments.

Loved Gywneth in her white number. I have rarely seen a jacket work well on the red carpet and this one most certainly did. Loved her hair too, it went perfectly with this gown. 

I never quite liked Gywneth much before, especially when she won Best Actress when she was just 25, and it wasn’t even that great a performance anyway.

I first started liking her better when she rocked the red carpet back at the 2007 Oscars. She was, in my opinion, the Best Dressed that year, no question about it. She commanded old Hollywood glamor and stood out from the rest with her choice of an orange sherbert gown, which no one else even realized was the color for the season. 

Yay, Tina Fey got it right this time! Love how she rocked this gown. This is how girls lacking in the height department should wear floor-length gowns. With a little below-the-waist structuring to break up the look, you can go with as dramatic a tail as you want at the hem.

And her hair was spot-on - a little different from her usual red carpet dos - making her look very fresh and spritely. Notice how she really nailed it this time? The gown's close enough to her usual black, but not quite.

The same can't be said for Kristen Wiig, who chose to remain a brunette in nude. Maybe I kind of like the detailing in the frills, but that's about it.

I really liked Penelope's gown too, that color is just so special. This is a highly interesting color - kind of like fairy wings with a splash of the ocean - and photos just don't do it justice. You've got to see it on TV to appreciate its full glory. And the gown flowed really well too, she made such a grand entrance on stage. Again, you have to see it to believe it. I can't decide if her hair makes her look too mature, or that she actually looks younger without the long locks. Let me just bask in the fabulousness of this color.

And of course Cameron Diaz looked great too. Loved the gown, perfect color on her, perfect fit too. I just didn't like the hair which seemed just a tad school-girlish. Oh, and Dianna Agron kind of reminds me of her.

Finally, Rooney Mara not in black! What a breath of fresh air! Love, love, love the gown. Still edgy, but not in black. A+!

Another miss for Jessica Chastain. I wonder why she always dresses too old for her age. This gown's detailing was way too heavy in the bodice, and coupled with that dark color, was just so aging on her. And it clashed so badly with her hair color. I've seen her being interviewed on the red carpet and she always seems so chipper and enthusiastic and genuinely excited, why can't her gowns just do the same?

Here's one I really liked: Glenn Close. What a fantastic non-run-of-the-mill gown! So age appropriate without looking like she didn't really try, or couldn't quite find a gown that wasn't for a thin, perky young starlet. 

Meryl Streep needs to take a leaf out of Glenn's book. I love her, and I think she's a beautiful woman, with such a gracious beauty about her. A dignified beauty, that's what she is. Sadly, she never gets her red carpet gowns right.

I didn't know that Viola Davis wears a wig! All those looks?! Wigs?! Boggles the mind! So this is what she actually looks like. She actually looks like a completely different person. You know, she's been interesting to watch on the red carpet this awards season. Lots of bold colors and daring gowns. But I don't like this one. A little too mature, that beading just doesn't go with the asymmetrical pleated folds.

Uh oh. This looks waaay too much like what Nicole Kidman wore in 2007. I would have expected more from Emma Stone. 

Michelle Williams has been turning some heads on the fashion front. I loved her black and white gown at the BAFTAs, which was so simple but such a knockout. I'm on the fence about her Oscar gown though. I like the red but that lacey looking material, coupled with that little frou frou skirt....I'm a little concerned.

I can't quite make up my mind about Berenice Bejo's gown. At first glance, I loved this gown. I love the unusual color and the silhouette. It falls so nicely on her. And it's got sleeves but isn't frumpy. And then on second thoughts, I don't really like that beading, kind of too...stringy. 

Over to JLo. You know, after her debut on American Idol last season, I was beginning to like JLo. She seemed really vested in the contestants and was always giving such encouraging, positive comments. She actually came across as sincere. And of course she looked fabulous week after week. Her hair, her clothes, she was really arresting to look at. And then she starts dating some young dancer half her age. Again. She just can’t kick her toy boy habit.

And just like that, all credibility’s gone. All the goodwill she built with us common folks over the Idol season is just crumbling. And then she starts reverting to Jenny from the Block. Trying too hard to be sexy. Remember the green Versace she wore to the 2000 Grammys?

This overt sexiness is in short, not sexy. As evidenced by her Lo-cut Oscar gown, not to mention the wardrobe malfunction which clearly would not have happened if this gown wasn't trying so hard. I don’t even like this gown, a little too slithery and scaly for my liking.

Oh look! I keep forgetting John Corbett and Bo Derek are together. I always thought Bo Derek would have given Carrie a good run for Aidan’s money. Wait, they’re still together? That’s got to be a perfect 10.

What, Judy Greer got to go to the Oscars too? Seriously, how do these invites work?!

Is this an optical illusion? This gown is giving me a headache. Who is Judy Greer, you may ask. She was one Kitty Sanchez in Arrested Development. And evidently decided to dress like Kitty at the Oscars. At first I thought she was Joely Richardson. Squint and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Speaking of which, why hasn't she been working the red carpet circuit given her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

Who Are You Wearing

I'm still on the last leg of the Oscar viewing marathon - it's crunch time now, the Best Actress and Best Picture Awards are coming right up. But I can't resist putting up a quick post on my FAVORITE part of the Oscar red carpet so far, which is not an absolutely fabulous gown, but Sacha Baron Cohen.

I love what he did, everything about it is just too funny.

You can say you're wearing Kim Jong Il. Wicked.