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.

Countdown to the Oscars 2012

I'm in such a hurry to get this blog up and running because the Oscars are just round the corner! A remnant of my former publicist days, the Oscars is never a non-event for me. I make a date with the golden man every year, hell and high water notwithstanding.

In years gone by, many a Breakfast with the Stars party has been thrown in the office to catch the 'live' viewing of the Oscars, which always ends up being on a Monday morning at 9am in Asia. I would dress my best and watch the fest. 

Now a newly-minted stay at home mom (albeit Take 2), I can watch it LIVE this year, dressed in my best PJs, nursing my 4 month old, cleaning off milk and poop, mesmerized by impossibly shiny gowns. 

My favorite part of the Oscars is undoubtedly the red carpet. I hope the stars take some risks this year. Dazzle with some bang. I'm tired of seeing Rooney in Black again. Nicole in yet another svelte but awful gown. Charlize ethereal. Angelina looking not great at all. Am I the only one who thinks she looked terrible at the Globes? I liked the gown but the color was just not right on her and she was so grim, and those shoulders...I keep getting distracted by them, they just look so weird. 

In particular, I want to see how the funny gals will glam it up. Tina and Kristen, please get it right this time.

 

At the Globes, I liked that Tina veered away from her usual black and got some color on, but the gown just made her look uncomfortable and frumpy, like a funny gal trying to play dress up. Kristen does not a good looking brunette make, and her colorless gown makes her look severely washed out. This hair color and gown combo is a death blow. Pity since I like her, and with her riding high off Bridesmaids, all eyes were on her. She let a crucial style moment pass her by. Where oh where is her stylist?

Dancing with the Stars Season 13

I recently caught DWTS Season 13 on good old fashioned TV programming. Yes, it took this long for DWTS to finally arrive on cable TV in Hong Kong. 

I have never seen DWTS, not even on Youtube and let me say, this was certainly IN-TE-RES-TING! There was Chaz Bono! Nancy Grace! Chynna Phillips! Ricki Lake! How more fascinating a troop than this for a virgin viewing of DWTS? 

Chaz Bono was the reason I kept watching DWTS every week. My husband, who invariably catches me watching it, wanted to know why I would want to watch Nancy Grace prance in and out every week. He just doesn't get it. It's Chaz.

My impression of Chaz - and this is purely from gormless vegging out in front of the TV - is that hey, he's a likable guy! I was surprised to see how overweight he is, but he was very candid about it - he said something like to be in his 40s and overweight, it's a huge challenge being on the show. And I don't doubt it. You can see the huffing and puffing and how much he's pushing himself physically every week to learn the routines. He's completely out of his comfort zone, physically and I would think emotionally as well (seems like a shy guy). You can see he probably hates doing the show week after week, but pushes through anyway.

I particularly liked the episode where he performed to the theme song of Rocky, he looked like he finally enjoyed the dancing and broke through triumphant at the end. Cher was in the audience that week and it was moving (could be my lactating hormones going out of whack) to see how proud she was of her transgender child. 

And the week he did the Samba was very entertaining too - this Chaz, he can ssshake his booty! I think what is interesting about Chaz is that at the onset, you go 'What!', and then you watch him in person (on telly that is), and you - I mean I - end up rooting for this guy. He was the underdog and I wanted him to succeed. Nice vibes overall.

Now Nancy Grace - you've got to hand it to her. She's quite...hefty (which you never quite realize since her lower half pretty much hides behind that desk), and had no qualms shaking it all out. I didn't like her on the show but I wanted to keep watching her. I think that's what it is about DWTS, there's a certain element of it that you just...gawk at.

Chynna Philips is an ode to my teenage years - who can forget Wilson Phillips, and how we should all Hold On for One More Day? I thought she looked so great then with her chic short bob which I promptly went out to get the exact same haircut, only to end up looking like I was wearing a helmet. Disastrous to say the least.

Chynna still looks fabulous today (might have had some help somewhere), and she was just breathtaking when she danced. She is seriously graceful. I had to google her afterwards to see if she was ever a ballerina. She was so lithe and danced like wind in the willows, you simply could not take your eyes off her when she was dancing. Too bad she got eliminated very early on, in my opinion she could have been the winner of the season.

Ricki Lake - a nostalgic reminder of my days in college in the US. I used to watch her on daytime TV all the time. I think every single day. Ricki, Jerry Springer and Maury - my staple TV diet in my college days. It doesn't get any trashier than this.

The thing about Ricki Lake is that I now have a hazy memory of her despite our daily dates way back when. So I had to google her to find out what she's been up to and I find that her recent claim to fame is her book on natural birthing. I go on to read somewhere else that a strong-willed mom who was completely against the idea of natural birthing, read her book and it changed her mind completely. 

How scary is that? That you can read a book and completely change your mind about something like your own childbirthing experience. I have had 2 kids and no way would I have been able to have had them without an epidural. This I know very well.

I have the deepest respect for all the women out there today and in generations past who've done it the natural way, free from any medication. It is completely mind boggling to me, and is most definitely not something I can do.

But there's a part of me that is curious and wants to know what this is all about. Something about how it empowers you when you deliver the natural way. That if you've done it the natural way, you know you can do anything.

So now I'm scared shitless to read the book.