Review

Review Date: 27-February-05
 

The 2005 Academy Awards Broadcast

Whoever produced the show this year pioneered some innovative time-savers (like having nominees in the lower-profile categories already on stage when the presenter arrived). This made for a pleasantly short(er) affair.

But before it all began, the red carpet special put me in mind of a few analogies:

Virginia Madsen:Michael Madsen, Leia:Luke (duh, me!)
Clive Owen:James Bond, Bill Gates:Midas (duh, casting agents!)
Annette Bening:Warren Beatty, Juliet:Romeo (duh, marriage naysayers!)

5:34 pm (PST): Charlie Chaplin and Shrek, together at last. It's going to be an interesting night ....

5:35: Boyish Chris Rock makes his Oscar debut. He starts out weakly (too many "OK"s), hits his stride eventually (by *not* dissing George Bush), and ends lamely (with a trite nod to the troops fighting for "freedom").

5:50: Morgan Freeman receives his first Academy Award (for Supporting Actor in "Million Dollar Baby"), as well as a standing ovation. What can I say? The man is just cool. Bravo.

6:02: The "multitalented" (?) Drew Barrymore introduces the first nominated song. I love the woman dearly, but ... huh?

6:22: A deserving Cate Blanchett picks up her first statuette, probably not her last (for her Supporting Actress role in "The Aviator"). Why am I always so charmed that she loves a nerd?

6:32: Kirsten Dunst becomes the luckiest woman of the evening in sharing the stage with Orlando Bloom. (They present the Editing award to "The Aviator," which appears to be on a roll.)

6:44: "Sideways," the most critically acclaimed movie of the year, wins its only Oscar for Adapted Screenplay.

6:57: Director Sidney Lumet accepts his Honorary Oscar. I'm torn between feeling happy for him at this moment in his life and sorry for him for making a court drama with Vin Diesel.

7:14: Kate Winslet gets my vote for loveliest woman of the show as she presents the award for Cinematography to "The Aviator."

7:27: Antonio Banderas is also introduced as "multitalented," but he legitimizes the claim by singing the nominated song from "The Motorcycle Diaries" (which wins a half hour later).

7:51: Hands down (or up, as it were), Marlon Brando wins the In Memoriam clap-o-meter.

8:06: Hilary Swank wins one of the most hotly contested bouts of the evening (Best Actress for "Million Dollar Baby") and this time remembers to thank her husband.

8:11: Having confirmed my first impression with a second look, I'm left scratching my head why actor Billy Crudup is slumming in a MasterCard commercial.

8:16: Alejandro Amenábar (god, I love that name) accepts the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture, "The Sea Inside."

8:17: For the first and only time, I let out a squeal for Charlie Kaufman and his Best Original Screenplay award for the wonderful "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

8:25: Even though he was a shoo-in playing the late Ray Charles, Jamie Foxx brings the audience to its feet by winning for Best Actor.

8:33 - 8:37: In the battle of the titans, Clint Eastwood and "Million Dollar Baby" best Martin Scorsese and "The Aviator" for Best Director and Best Picture. It's a worthy choice; check it out if you haven't seen it.

For a complete list of winners, see www.oscars.com.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.