The Road Away from the Oscars 2010: Good Choices, OK Show

For a moment I thought the Oscars are going to the way they did when Titanic won a decade ago. Award every award in sight to the James Cameron film. But better sense prevailed and Avatar won in just 3 categories. The Hurt Locker tally sits at double this number and deservedly show.

First, a comment on the hosts. I expected fireworks with Alec Baldwin and old hand Steve Martin doing the honours. I did not get them. Good writing ensures that the host ekes out some laughs at the very least, but I want more. Bring back Billy Crystal I say. No one since his departure has been able to replicate his success.

This time the Academy did away with performances by nominees for Best Original Song. A change for the better. After A. R. Rahman’s boring act last year, I can imagine most TV audiences taking that much needed comfort break during this segment. Instead, there were awesome dances to usher in nominees for Background Score (if I remember correctly). I was transfixed the way I was when while seeing The Hurt Locker.

Optional categories like Honorary Oscar were absent, yet the show overshot its deadline. So much so that Tom Hanks just walked in and announced the winner for Best Picture! While on Tom Hanks, maybe Hollywood has another actor of repute which the Academy can bring in to present the Oscar for some top category. Hanks making an appearance is a given now.

My biggest disappoint was Up in the Air not winning anything. If nothing else, the Adapted Screenplay Oscar was it’s for the taking. Precious won when all it deserved was Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Mo’nique who won in this category revived memories of Hattie McDaniel, the first black to win an Oscar. Too late I say. It no longer matters what your colour is when you receive the statuette. That “moment” has already been milled dry by Halle Berry. This was the year to hail a woman winning for Best Director.

As far as predictions go, I got 8 on 10 right. And learned a valuable lesson. Never blindly make assumptions without actually weighing all nominees in a particular category. I was confident about White Ribbon winning for Best Foreign Language Film. Next year, I may not want to predict for that category at all.