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Review:
71st Annual Academy Awards
Written
By Rick Ellis, March 21st, 1999
I have to
admit that I always have mixed feelings about the Academy Awards.
Unlike most awards shows, I actually care who wins an Oscar, and
that always lends a certain excitement to the ceremonies.
But the downside
is that the Academy takes itself very seriously--sometimes almost
painfully so. And generally, it's those self-congratulatory elements
of the show that grind so slowly that time itself seems to stand
still.
This year's
host was Whoopi Goldberg, and although I enjoy her work in general,
I wasn't a big fan of her last hosting appearance. This year's
started out much better, with her appearance dressed as Queen
Elizabeth. It was the first of many costume changes for her, as
she modeled clothing from all of the top movies. It was a deft
bit of comedy, and brought some chuckles throughout the night.
Where Goldberg
fell down was in the prepared joke category. Unlike most previous
hosts, she's not a big monologue fan. So when she did do prepared
material, she tended to throw it away in the presentation. Although
she did have one of the funniest lines of the night when she returned
after removing the Elizabeth makeup, she quipped, "Who knew
it would be that hard to get a virgin off of your face?"
But moments
like those were few and far between. It wasn't much of a night
for laughs, from either the host or presenters. In fact, my biggest
laugh of the evening came when Chris Rock stunned the audience
with the comment that Robert DeNiro was having trouble staying
close to Elia Kazan, because, "as you know, DeNiro doesn't
like a rat." The Kazan issue also was the basis for Robin
Williams' biggest laugh, when he proclaimed, "In terms of the
Kazan controversy, let Lainie sing."
It's a testament
to the dullness of this year's awards show that even the controversial
Elia Kazan issue turned out to be a mostly non-event. Kazan was
awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Academy, and the decision
was protested by a number of members. While Kazan was responsible
for a number of fine films, he also was someone that in the 1950s
he named names of fellow actors, writers and directors to a Congressional
committee investigating communist influence in Hollywood. Many
of those named never worked again, or could only work under an
alias.
When the award
was finally presented by director Martin Scorcese and actor Robert
DeNiro, Kazan seemed listless and somewhat befuddled. The audience
reaction was mixed. Some actors, including Lynn Redgrave, Meryl
Streep, Helen Hunt and Kurt Russell, rose to their feet and applauded.
Some, like director Steven Speilberg, sat and clapped quietly.
And others, including Oscar nominees Nick Nolte and Ed Harris,
refused to applaud.
As always,
everyone was on the look for fashion disasters, although the nost
noticable ones were limited to two. Helen Hunt was wearing enough
eye shadow and makeup to satisfy several Gabor sisters, and Andie
McDowell's swept-up hair and oddly formed dress made her seem
less like a presenter and more like the Bride of Frankenstein.
Several of
the presenters stood out, primarily Jim Carrey, who used his spot
to acknowledge the fact that he hadn't received an Oscar nomination
this year for "The Truman Show."
And two award
winners stood out: Roberto Benigni was so excited he walked across
the backs of the seats and hopped his way up the stairs. And Gwynth
Paltrow's teary acceptance speech was notable for its emotion
and sincerity.
But overall,
it was a long evening, and it ended up being the longest Oscar
broadcast ever. Although the woman who had the longest evening
may have been the E! Network's Joan Rivers, who found herself
shut out of the pre-Oscar coverage when ABC reserved the 30-minutes
just before the ceremony for its official coverage--shutting out
Rivers and her daughter Melissa. Not that it mattered much, since
Rivers seems genetically incapable of remembering who anyone is
without a cue card. Although that lack of knowledge makes for
some funny television, especially when the technicians forget
to turn down her mike, and you hear her say things like, "Hold
it, I think I know this one!"
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