Oscar highlights: how did Seth MacFarlane do as a first-time Oscar host?

This is just some general coverage of what the Oscar telecast was like, and by “general coverage” I mean “the parts I want to talk about.” First, let’s talk about Seth MacFarlane. He looked good in his tux, he seemed to honor “Old Hollywood” but he brought some freshness to it too. I liked the opening, even though William Shatner was overused. I loved all of the dancing, especially Channing Tatum and Charlize! I thought the best bit was the pretaped Sally Field thing with Seth in a nun’s habit. Some of Seth’s jokes were awkward, but he managed to save a couple of the stinkers with some good ad libs. I gave him a sold B, I guess, although if they ask him back they need to insist on NO SINGING at the end and no Shatner. Some of the other highlights:

*We spent too much time, collectively, looking at Anne Hathaway’s nips.

*LOVE Shirly Bassey. Her voice sounded really good for “Goldfinger”.

*I liked the musical interlude with Les Miserables, Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I thought J-Hud was the weakest link – she seemed to be scream-singing. Do you think of any of them used pre-records? Allegedly, Oscar producers didn’t want anyone to “pull a Beyonce”.

*The Avengers men sucked at presenting. Too many sausages.

*Liam Neeson looked good, y’all.

*Creepy CGI on “Ted” presenting with Mark Wahlberg.

*I really want to see Best Documentary winner Searching for Sugar Man. That looks so good!

*Seth’s half-joke about Harvey Weinstein was incredible.

*OMG ADELE WAS THE BEST THING EVER THE END. I loved that she wasn’t necessarily surprised when she won, but she was still moved to tears.

*Quentin Tarantino winning his second Oscar was amazing! I also love that now we know that Quentin and Charlize Theron are neighbors.

*Jennifer Lawrence falling up the stairs! That poor girl. That stupid Dior dress.

*Ang Lee is such a beautiful soul – for real. I loved that he won his second Oscar!!

*MOBAMA! I love Michelle Obama, but it seemed a little bit weird that she had a live feed to the Oscars.

*Ben Affleck’s Best Picture acceptance speech was rife with awkward moments which seemed to include subtext of how awful his marriage used to be and how he and Jennifer Garner had to “work” at it.

*Worst of the Oscars: Kristen Stewart. Everything about her presentation.

*Best of the Oscars: Jennifer Lawrence’s fall & then her gracious & sweet recovery; Charlize and Channing dancing, Little Q Wallis’s cutaways.

You can see the full list of winners here.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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213 Responses to “Oscar highlights: how did Seth MacFarlane do as a first-time Oscar host?”

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  1. magda says:

    ha! Kristen Stewart. yup. I have a brilliant idea for disaster: James Franco and her as co-hosts next year ;P

    • Kiki says:

      She looked like she didn’t want to be there. I felt sorry for Daniel Radcliffe who had to present with her. She also looked dirty. Why does she go to these awards? She’s not even talented!

    • lucky says:

      When she and Daniel came on stage, she was horribly limping. When the winner came up, she HOPPED to the side.

      Question: Why didn’t she hold onto Daniel’s arm for support? You KNOW he would have offered it. It looked so… juvenile for her to limp/hop on that stage, like she didn’t need/want help. I get that she didn’t want to use the crutches on stage, but lean on someone. She looked like the biggest fool.

      As for her hair, we know she can pull it together; we have seen her look stunning. Who knows what happened. At least she could have used hair refresher (for those of us who don’t have time to wash our hair in the morning!) : )

    • littlestar says:

      I couldn’t believe how unprofessional she was – clearing her throat loudly and fidgeting, completely missing her cue after Daniel Radcliffe finished his part of the reading. My fiance who was also watching it said that he thinks she was on drugs – she was twitchy, sweaty looking, and he also commented on the bruises on her arms, why wouldn’t she cover them? I felt embarrassed for her.

      • MrsBPitt says:

        @littlestar…my son said she looked liked she was on drugs, too…

      • Sumodo1 says:

        Oh, my! You saw it the way I did. Mmm.

      • Sara says:

        This. She looked coked out to me.

      • Carla says:

        Ok; let’s get something cleared here: she smokes pot. A lot. I do too, a lot too. And honestly, it could explain the bad timing during the presentation. But not the greasy skin. Not the messy hair. Not the lack of support for her leg. And mostly, not the apathy. See, the reason why weed makes you laugh or cry it’s becouse it de-alienates you; it connects you with feelings, with the others, with life, with the world. If you’re exited to be in the same place that your idols who are considered you peers and you smoke; you’re gonna be super exited and emotional. JLaw and AnnE felt “high”; thus the tripping and the gasping; not just nerves: happiness.

        BTW, had it been coke or anything synthetic she wouldn’t have had sleepy eyes.

    • DesertPoppy says:

      Does anyone know where I could see a video of this? I can’t seem to find one. I only caught parts of the show and missed this.

  2. VGS says:

    I thought his jokes were extremely awkward and weren’t overall funny. I doubt theyll ask him back next year.

    • Polk8dot says:

      Agreed. I think he was absolutely horrible! His opening joke about Afleck snub for ‘Argo’ rocked, and that was the caliber of humor I was expecting, but after that opening salvo he just started fizzling out in a hurry. The Shatner bit was awful, NOT FUNNY, and way too long.
      It was actually painful to watch.
      I’ve never once in my life not watched the Oscars (they are like my Superbowl), but even with all the failures before, I’ve never ever given up and turned them off.
      Seth did it for me! He killed my Oscars! I lasted only till the end of the Shatner bit, and then changed the channel in disgust.
      Instead of the expected poking fun at himself and us, it was like he was the only one in on the joke, and laughing openly at our stupidity for thinking he was laughing with us not at us.
      He also had that awful mannerism of looking into the camera after each joke with a face that read ‘Get it?! Get it?! ….. Whatever! You’re just to dumb to get it! I KNEW IT. It’s
      NOT ME, it’s YOU!’.

      !!! COLOSSAL FAILURE !!!

      • Irishae says:

        I hear you, for me the Oscars are better than Christmas! It’s a sacred day in my house. Regardless of who ends up butchering the host duties, I’m able to enjoy the show. This year was one of the worst overall, but he won’t kill it for me.

        I like Seth and his low-brow humor most days, but he didn’t fit the gig from day one. He knew he was bombing seconds in and seemed to lose confidence in the material. And he was right–the large majority of it wasn’t funny other than the Sally Field bit. He succeeded best at singing.

        Mostly I’m at a loss for the show as a whole. It was very disappointing. The stage looked extra-cheap this year and people just looked especially unhappy to be there. They recycled celebs for multiple duties so it was like only a handful were in attendance. Other than CZJ, I guess this was her comeback show? Oh and the ever-present Salma Hayek. This was like the Dancing with the Stars of the Oscars! Not okay :).

      • Mae East says:

        Agreed. Self-deprecation would make this smug a** one hell of a lot funnier.

        Also, I have no problem with low-brow humor. The poop jokes in BRIDESMAIDS? Hilarious. The misogynistic jokes that MacFarlane returns to again and again? IMO, not funny. (I was almost in awe of the way he was able to wring a “aren’t women the worst?” joke out of ZERO DARK THIRTY.) Plus, the anti-Semitic tinge to that TED joke? And the snark on native Spanish-speakers’ accents? And the isn’t domestic violence hilarious crack about Rihanna and Chris Brown?

        My distaste for MacFarlane’s humor is not because I think I’m above, like, fart jokes. I object to MacFarlane because he’s speaking from a place of extreme privilege and picking on groups of people who are different (and traditionally less powerful) than him and it’s okay because it’s all an (unfunny) joke. .

      • Flan says:

        @Mae East.

        You are right. Satire is smart when you dare to take on conventions and people who are more powerful than you are.

        Unless the joke is very gentle, that does not include children. And what is more vulnerable than a female, Afro-American child? The ‘joke’ about George Clooney and her was not okay at all.

        Guess who did MacFarlane try to make amends with later? Clooney, not her. Because Clooney is a powerful, white, adult man. MacFarlane hides behind ‘satire’, but is nothing more than a petty coward.

  3. Maxine says:

    Babs singing The Way Were Were. . . . Were you watching Beyonce?

    JHud WAS screaming. Like I had to turn down the volume.

    Les Mis. . . . excellent. . . Don’t know why I was surprised to see Russell Crowe but I was – very well done.

    I’m over AnnE. Did she change dresses at some point?

    Helen Hunt’s H & M dress was wrinkled.

    The Rihanna/Chris Brown joke made me cringe. . . .

    • emmie_a says:

      Why did JHud get a standing ovation?? Her singing was awful.

      • the original bellaluna says:

        And Adele didn’t! I was shocked. (I also had to turn down the volume when JHud was screeching.)

      • Maxine says:

        emmie_a – EXACTLY. I actually went to the Oscar site and watched Babs, JHud and Adele back to back to back. Babs and Adele were flawless with JHud just screaming. Which is surprising to me because I liked her performance at the Superbowl.

        Like Orig. B said, give Adele JHud’s standing ovation.

      • coco says:

        JHud did hurt my ears

      • Irishae says:

        IMO, no one sounded “AMAZING.” The Goldfinger song improved at the end and so did Babs. Adele was off key constantly and don’t even get me started on Jennifer Hudson. I walked out of Dreamgirls years ago and could only make it halfway through before my dog started howling along with her. Seriously, girl made my eyelids twitch.

      • Bryn says:

        It usually is. People love her for some reason. The standing ovation is usually obligatory at this point.

    • lady X says:

      I think J HUDSON was AMAZING … As always and that was pretty much the attitude on twitter and facebook … but that came from all my friends and followers who are musicians…
      She had to condense the song and it is a big song and had she been able to do the whole song then it would have been more balanced… ever the less I can see you saying ” I do not care for the screaming” but to say she was aweful is CRAZY !!!!! The woman has one of the best natural voices in the business.. it is the one reason she is ALWAYS working .. since we know nothing in is handed to US in this industry

    • jaye says:

      I have always felt that Jhud scream sings. She seems like a chick I’d hang out with in real life as long as I never, EVER had to listen to her sing.

    • Kate says:

      Catherine Zeta-Jones was lip synching.

    • Irishae says:

      The Les Mis part was lovely, I agree. Which is strange because I hated the movie.

    • Grant says:

      If there’s vibrato, it’s not screaming. You can’t sustain a shriek with vibrato without shredding your vocal cords. I thought she was amazing, she sounded even better than the original recording of AIATYING. This is literally the only place that I’ve seen ragging on her performance. Did none of you see Dreamgirls??? It’s SUPPOSED to be sung loud.

      And I’m sorry, but that was not Adele’s best performance.

  4. janie says:

    I loved Seth.. thought he did a great job!

    • evie says:

      I thought he did, too! All my friends were dogging him out on FB but I thought he did a good job. I actually tuned in for the whole thing where it’s usually one of the more boring awards shows during the year.

    • momoftwo says:

      I had set out to hate him but I think he did a good job! Sarcasm and joking about the actors but not too over the top.

      I can’t believe what a great singing voice he has. He sounds a lot like Frank Sinatra…who’da thunk it??

    • MG says:

      I agree. I laughed a lot at the beginning. The boob song was hilarious!! And the bit with Sally Field…how could you not love that?! I got bored towards the middle with all the singing, not Seth’s fault. Highlight for me was Adele.

    • Bobbie says:

      I thought he was funny too. I was laughing quite often. It wasn’t perfect, but the Oscars never are. I can’t believe how many people are ripping him. Sheesh. Not a job I’d ever want.

    • V4Real says:

      +1 I liked him.

    • Suki says:

      I liked him too. Loved the song and dance numbers – ‘The Losers Bless Them All’ (or something like that)…funnier than anything I can remember in any Oscars, any year.

      • Maxine says:

        I LOVE JHUD so it pains me to rag on her performance but compare her Oscar performance with her Superbowl performance (beautiful). She was just. . . it was too much.

        The BEST singer last night. . . BEST BEST BEST. . . . was Aaron Tveit of Les Mis. HE WAS amazing. . . This guy OWNED the stage. . . commanded it for the 15 seconds he sang. That’s a broadway voice that everyone could take lessons from.

    • Rachael says:

      Yeah I was convinced he was gonna be a disaster (I just wasn’t sure that he had the right experience for the gig), but I was really pleasantly surprised. I thought it was quite decent, I would give him a solid B.

      Of course my Twitter feed ever since last night has been peppered with MORAL OUTRAGE at his performance. (rolling eyes) I swear to god I even saw a New Yorker article today that called out his “We Saw Your Boobs” song as evidence of his “hostile misogyny”. Dear LORD, people loooove to get their panties in a twist. I will never understand that mentality.

  5. Marion says:

    I would do bad things to that man. I don’t know why he’s been hiding behind cartoon characters for all these years, he’s way more sexy fox than intellectual dog.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      I didn’t watch The Oscars but I saw some of the press stuff he’s been doing the past few weeks:::
      HIS VOICE. I’m a voice girl and I think his voice is one of the hottest voices I’ve ever heard. That alone would be enough for me to do him, but he’s not bad-looking either. Too bad he’s a Playboy Mansion type dude.

  6. cubfan34 says:

    I thought Seth did fine.

  7. Saor says:

    I hated all the “so, how about them gays, huh?!” type jokes. But it’s Macfarlane so yeah, of course.

  8. Eve says:

    I couldn’t watch it, not even to have material to slam him afterwards. I simply can’t stomach this man — REALLY.

    Today morning I saw on CNN a bit where it seemed like Charlize Theron was rolling her eyes at his endless intro — or it was one of his musical numbers (can’t say for sure because, as I said, I didn’t watch the show). Seriously, Theron can throw a bitch face like no one else.

    • emmie_a says:

      I think that was taped footage from a different awards show that they inserted into the bit. It wasn’t a live feed of her reaction.

      I liked Seth. I like most of his humor and I think he kept the show rolling smoothly. I could’ve done w/out the boobs song but that’s what you get when you ask Seth to host. That being said I think the show had a good mix of crude jokes, music acts and Hollywood stuff. And I loved the backdrop with all the candle looking things – it looked really good.

      • LAK says:

        It was a pre-recorded skit. The actresses had to tape reaction shots that were worked into the final edit.

    • JoJo says:

      I think that was during the “boob” skit, and she was purposely rolling her eyes/making a face to go along with it. I think she and Seth are friends, although not sure.

      • V4Real says:

        Jojo I think you’re right; Charlize reaction was planned. It’s just like the comment RDJ made towards Gervais when he hosted the Golden Globes a few years back. Gervais made a comment about RDJ’s past addiction and RDJ pretended not to be happy about it but it was a planned reaction. Later that year RDJ and Ricky Gervais was in an interview together when RD was promoting Due Date.

    • andrea says:

      Her pre-taped reaction was part of the bit. Then she came onstage and danced with Channing Tatum while Seth sang.

      Seth was ok, I guess. He just looked a bit too smug most of the time. And it was irritating how he was laughing at his own jokes, half of which were totally flat. He did manage to salvage some of the awkward moments, and his singing was very good and quite perfect for the night’s theme, but I don’t think he scored enough points with the audience/academy to score a call-back next year.

    • myview says:

      There was taped footage from other shows. If you notice Charlize, JLaw etc were wearing different dresses from Oscar night.

  9. Wren says:

    The Charlize look was part of the act as other actresses (Naomi Watts) had similar faces in that sketch about ladies boobs

  10. DanaG says:

    I didn’t love Seth but I didn’t hate him either way better then Anne last year. Kristen Stewart just needs to stop going to these things she seemed rude and angry she was even there. So don’t go no one will miss her. Anne’s nipples were just so excited she could give Jennifer Aniston a run for her money. The show needs to be shorter it was way too long. Loved Ang Lee and when Argo one. George Clooney looked hot.

    • emmie_a says:

      Kristen was huffing & rolling her eyes on the red carpet. She has such a crappy attitude — There are tons of actresses who would die to be in her position… Why can’t she be grateful and at least ACT happy?

      (above sentiment applies to Joaquin Phoenix too… but I actually like him!)

      • Masque says:

        Exactly my sentiments. As for JP, at least he has talent to offset the attitude. Kristen doesn’t.

      • Sally says:

        While posing on the red carpet, she was tapping her foot and looking very uncomfortable. Did anyone else see that? No wonder she was limping while presenting.

      • LAK says:

        Kirsten arrived on the red carpet on crutches which she handed over to her people for the photographs.

        She may have looked extra miserable/unkempt because she was in pain and or on pain meds. That’s also why her leg was shaking.

        I don’t understand why she didn’t have some sort of cane and take Daniel’s arm to walk on stage.

        Nor do i understand why she needed to be seen on the red carpet when she could have been deposited back stage to do her onstage bit in a wheelchair. No need to grace the carpet at all in her condition. The academy would have understood.

  11. Jaana says:

    Yay award season is over! Thank God.

  12. Chelsea's handler says:

    Seth was pretty good. But what was the deal him confusing Denzel with Eddie Murphy?

    • JoJo says:

      That was on purpose – a joke.

      • mainstream says:

        Obviously it was a joke. But it was hard to tell if the joke was the ridiculous idea of a serious actor like Denzel being in the Nutty Professor. Or if he was saying black people are all the same to him. It was open to interpretation. Seth’s “jokes” tend to tread a fine line between poor taste and outright: racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny. I think a lot Seth’s fans are bigots who feel like political correctness has been forced on them and Seth’s humour gives them a vehicle to vent their resentment.

    • Masque says:

      I think it was a subtle slam on Hollywood’s lack of diversity.

      • Polk8dot says:

        @ ‘…Hollywood’s lack of diversity’

        Seriously? What are you talking about? Hollywood and showbiz in general are one of the most diverse industries ever.

      • LAK says:

        Polk8dot – you completely miss the point that Hollywood tends to have just one different person at a time as the hot star of the moment from each different group that doesn’t fit the Hollywood standard. That was the point of the joke.

        There is alot of diversity at grassroots level, but at the top table, only one allowed to enter the tent at a time.

  13. vale says:

    I think it’s cool to just stop giving Kristin Stewart any attention- she clearly doesn’t want it, and it’s really boring to see someone there that isn’t into it.

    • LadyLupton says:

      Where’s the “like” button when you need one? This is the most sensible thing I’ve heard today.

    • Abra says:

      She looked super high last night. I know she’s a proud pot smoker, whatever I don’t care. But come on. You’re at the Oscars. If you don’t want to be there just say no when they ask you to present.

      • laprincesita says:

        yes, this, she was so high, It was extremely inconfortable! high an dirty.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        Kristen really is in the wrong industry. Bitch should work at the DMV or something.

        PS: Please don’t blame marijuana. Pot doesn’t magically transform a person into a cranky moron, that’s all Kristen.

  14. CF says:

    I think Zeta Jones was def lip synching

    • TheOriginalTiffany says:

      No doubt about it. First thing we all noticed. Definitely completely synced and not very well at times.

      Every single person noticed how drunk, drugged and messy Kristen Stewart was. She looked like she rolled out of the back of Spiccoli’s van from Fast Times.

    • littlestar says:

      Hell yes she was! Her lips were completely off – did she not practise her lip-syncing? And the track they used sounded exactly like the track on the Chicago album. Couldn’t they have made her record something else so it wasn’t so obvious?

  15. the original bellaluna says:

    I liked the Chicago bit, but since Queen Latifah was there, why no “When You’re Good to Mama” bit? I mean, she OWNED that role!!!

    JHud was sing/screeching – same reason I mute those WW or JC or whatever commercials.

    *hangs head* I actually thought the “We Saw Your Boobies” bit was kinda funny.

    • Chelsea's handler says:

      I hated the way Hudo screamed through that song. It reminded me of the singers on American Idol. They have the range to hit all the high and low notes but they can’t interpret a song to save themselves.

    • whatthehell456 says:

      I loved the “we saw your boobs” song too 🙂 I thought he did a great job of mixing “old Hollywood” and new….but that’s just me. I actually get and enjoy his humor.

      • Eve says:

        “I actually get and enjoy his humor.”

        Oh, I get his humour just fine (most people do, actually). I just don’t think it’s funny.

        I repeat (because that seems to be the main — if not the only — point his fans ALWAYS try to make whenever anyone criticizes him): not finding him funny DOES NOT mean we don’t get what he’s trying to do/say.

      • Masque says:

        Me too! My poor mom was less than thrilled with his jokes but she was impressed with his singing so it evened out.

        I had no idea he could sing.

    • LAK says:

      me too. loved that song. and it’s catchy as hell. it’s stuck in my head.

      @Eve – I don’t think i had knowingly ever heard anything Seth MacFarlane had to say or joke about, so last night was a first for me.

      I thought it was funny. Will i go out of my way to seek him out? probably not, but i won’t turn off or change the channel if he comes on.

      • Eve says:

        He’s the man behind Family Guy (rip-off of The Simpsons), American Dad (rip-off of the rip-off), The Cleveland Show (rip-off of the rip-off of the rip-off) and TED (movie with Mark Wahlberg).

        I can’t stand him because I can’t stand plagiarists. A plagiarist (to me) is like a robber who gets to (legally) keep what he robbed — and, especially in MacFarlane’s case, even be praised for it.

        He’s also the PERFECT example of that saying “Can dish it out but can’t take it”. He’ll mock anyone but when he himself gets slammed by others (especially comedians), he pouts.

        You should check the two episodes from South Park where they pretty much ripped him a new a**hole. They’re called “Cartoon Wars — Parts I and II”. It’s brilliant. He (MacFarlane) didn’t have a comeback…but he thought about it: in one of Family Guy’s DVD commentaries, he mentioned they were going to joke about Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park creators) engaging in anal sex in “Point Anal” (a fictitious place in Quahog — city where Family Guy takes place). Get it? You criticize him, he calls you “gay”. Apparently, they gave up and didn’t film this…which disappointed me. I’d have loved to see Parker and Stone owning his ass once again.

  16. T.Fanty says:

    It was fine. I wasn’t planning on watching it, for Eve’s reasons, then I did, then I got bored. Between Hathaway, Franco and Billy Crystal, the bar has been placed so low, it would have been hard for McFarland to screw it up. His jokes were fine, but he just lacked the presence needed to fill the role.

    It was also a weird ceremony. It felt like they just patched together a bunch of random themes. The musicals tribute was weird and too contemporary to really stand out. Anyone would think that Hollywood was only ten years old, judging by last night. The whole thing felt weirdly small.

    • Lee says:

      Agree completely. It was boring, and felt unprofessionally cobbled together. I was embarrassed on behalf of the organizers and performers – it was an awkward mess. So, so bad.

    • jinni says:

      I felt that way too. They made the Bond tribute seem more substantial, but than when they showed it I was like, that’s it? Also it was weird how they had Norah Jones sing the Ted song right before they gave best song award to Adele. Plus the Les Mis song was awkwardly edited which made it sound strange to me.

      If it weren’t for reading comments online that were funnier than the vast majority of the show, I would’ve gone to bed because it was boring.

    • Polk8dot says:

      @ ‘Between Hathaway, Franco and Billy Crystal, the bar has been placed so low, it would have been hard for McFarland to screw it up’

      And yet screw it up he did, and in a spectacular fashion, I thought.

      Plus, putting the names of Franco of AnnE in the same sentence with Billy Crystal is a fricking crime in itself!

      The pair were almost as bad as Seth(from all the hosts over the last 4 decades, he takes the AWFULNESS cake hands down).
      I may not have like Billy Crystal as an actor, but as a stand-up comedian and Oscar host he was INCOMPARABLE! Oh, those were the good old days….(wipes a tear.. 😉 )

    • EscapedConvent says:

      Eve:

      Have to agree on MacFarlane. I usually turn the sound down when he’s onscreen. I will say that I didn’t know he could sing & he does that very well. So there’s one nice thing.

      But he’s the definition of smug & a few minutes of that is enough for me. And he got stuck at the age of 14. A clever teenager, perhaps, but still.

      Thanks for the tip re: South Park–I’m going to look for it.

      T.Fanty:

      It did look like a patchwork quilt. The whole thing felt off-kilter. I couldn’t watch all of it. But I did love Shirley Bassey coming out onstage & showing all the wanna-be “divas” how it’s actually done. She had that crowd riveted, stunned & in the palm of her hand. I was holding my breath.

  17. lady mary. says:

    seth hosting oscars was good ,it was a good tribute to the old glamour ,but i hated that part where he kept asking that man in the tv what should he do to make his hosting the best ,that itself was making the show a turn off ,jennifer fall on the stairs was graceful and so beautiful ,like cinderella or something not cringe worthy at all,what cringe worthy was Kstew limping in slow motion towards the mike

  18. bea says:

    Seth was better than Billy Freakin’ Crystal, imo

    I fear Seth isn’t going to age well.

    Can Ann H please go away now that she won? She looks like a snarf & barfer to me. Her dress was really unflattering – esp. the color.

    Jennifer’s dress looked like she wrapped a duvet around her. Looked like it might slip down at any moment due to the weight. Also a bad color.

  19. I liked him a lot! He was great at the musical numbers and most of his jokes were funny. I hope he gets asked back another year!

  20. Nashville Girl says:

    I hated Ted!

    • JoJo says:

      Oh, I loved Ted! But then, I’m from Boston. I think being from Boston makes it easier to appreciate the humor.

  21. JoJo says:

    I would give Seth a solid B+. Overall, I enjoyed his hosting and thought he did a good job. A few random comments/questions:

    – What about CZT’s exchange with Ryan Seacrest in the red carpet re: the mani cam? Awkward!

    – One of my favorite things about awards shows us when they pan to audience members for reactions. They didn’t do that much last night, and I didn’t like that.

    – What was up with E! red carpet coverage. E! Is usually my “go to” TV network for red carpet interviews, but last night, it was literally 80% back room discussion/analysis of styles and 20% actual interviews. Why?! I can wait to see that on “Fashion Police”. And they didn’t even talk to some of the major actors. I actually switched to ABC for the first time in years.

    • mia62 says:

      Same here, I switched from E! to ABC too because I wanted to see the stars interviewed on the Red Carpet. I thought E!’s coverage just really sucked.

  22. bns says:

    The show sucked and the wins were all predictable and undeserved.

    • TheOriginalTiffany says:

      Well, Ang Lee winning best director for Life Of Pi was great.

      • spinner says:

        Ang Lee’s win was well-deserved. He gave the best acceptance speech. So humble & appreciative. He seems like a wonderful person.

      • Jane says:

        Agreed. Ang Lee deserved it. Very talented directing and usually very artful. I love his work. His speech was cute and funny too probably due to the broken English.

      • dee says:

        Wow Jane, just because he’s not from America, it doesn’t mean he cannot speak English. I think he spoke English just fine last night.

  23. jinni says:

    The only part of his hosting I laughed at was the part of the boobs song were he listed all the movies Kate Winslet has shown her breasts.

    Was I the only one that thought Channing’s dancing was awkward. I think he should just stick to stripping and hip hop moves because he doesn’t appear to have the training for anything else.

    I liked all the guys with the really nice, long, flowing hair that kept winning.

    I wish all the guaranteed winner hadn’t won because by the end of the show it just became predictable.

  24. kingkayski says:

    I think Seth did well,compare to the previous host.He’s funny,witty and he can actually sing without trying too hard.

  25. lucy says:

    Searching for Sugar Man is thoroughly wonderful — do see it!

  26. lucy says:

    WTF was Obama and the military doing presenting any Oscar?!

    (Yes, she looked great. But just NO.)

    • lady X says:

      And why was The FLOTUS an issue? She looked gorgeous and she had service men and women there who ALWAYS deserve to shine and get recognition and it went with the theme of ARGO winning ….
      Don’t see the issue … President Clinton was at the Golden Globes

      • Garvels says:

        That’s the point….the Democrats own the media therefore the message and independents and Republicans are tired of having Democratic talking points blasted in our faces through entertainment programs. Just keep politics and politicians out of entertainment and you will hear no complaints.

    • Emma says:

      I thought she looked really good too. I loved the way her dress sparkled. I bet the girls helped her pick it out. I don’t get why they did that though. She doesn’t have a part really in this industry from my understanding. It would be like an Olympian who has never worked on a film or anything presenting. I just felt it was unnecessary, but she did look beautiful and as always very well spoken.

    • TheOriginalKitten says:

      As soon as I heard FLOTUS was there, I immediately braced myself for the ensuing right wing hysteria.

      • Thiajoka says:

        Damned librul media letting that Obama woman take over the Oscars! LOL. Yeah, get ready, they’ll be popping all over the internets today.

    • Bobbie says:

      I thought it was weird too. One thing I love about Michelle is that she is so dignified. You have to keep some distance between the presidency and pop culture, IMO, and her weirdly being there was somehow just kind of undignified and beneath her- like too try hard or something.

  27. Esmom says:

    I only watched for an hour but I didn’t like how he kept referring to the script, i.e. “Oh, we kept that joke in, Ok here goes.” Like he was distancing himself from the material in case it fell flat. But I’d say he was an improvement over last year. Although I guess almost anyone would be.

    I liked the Chicago-Dreamgirls-Les Mis interlude (although putting those three shows together seemed random to me) but I like musical theater. But I’d guess it might have seemed too long for someone who does not.

  28. Shira says:

    Two people who must never ever walk on that Oscars stage again: Seth MacFarlane as presenter, Kristen Stewart as ANYTHING.

  29. L says:

    Shirley Bassey was a dream come to for me. Yes, her breath control isn’t quite what it used to be, but at 76 (!) years of age-she just killed it for me.

    The opening bit went on WAYYYY to long, but I loved seeing Radcliffe dance and I loved the flying nun bit with sally field.

  30. CC says:

    I’m a bit tired of musical numbers, TBH. Scratch that, I see a musical number and feel like fast-forwarding.

  31. lady X says:

    Jennifer Hudson killed… she was AMAZING… It appeared to be alot because she had a small window in which to do a very big song that has many levels … she did great with what she had..
    Barbara Streistand was GREAT ….. Adele was weak to me but looked gorgeous
    And Kristen Stewart needs to stand aside and let people who really want to be there have a chance

    • HK9 says:

      Yes JHud did kill it. About the “scream singing” the Oscars is a huge production and the sound people who are doing this may not even be in the same building (’cause the orchestra wasn’t). I think one of the slips was they didn’t know when they had to turn down her microphone,(because I’m an audio engineer and you have to do that with professionals like JHud who can actually sing) I noticed when Adele was singing the beginning of her song, the mic was too low, but they fixed it toward the end. The solution, just turn down your tv folks. 🙂

      • myview says:

        Hey HK9, if you see this can you tell me what education you have to be an audio engineer as my son is applying to schools. We are getting different opinions from everyone. Or is anyone else knows the best path to take please tell me. Thanks! Btw I think JHud is an excellent singer but did sound like she was screeching. You can sing loud with a powerful voice, no need to scream.

  32. vv007 says:

    Soooooooooooooooooo boring. I couldn’t sit through this at all but my favourite part was Catherine Zeta Jones doing her bit from Chicago. I actually really liked that movie and that number she did. She looked fantastic too. I thought she was singing live at first but through the performance I don’t know, I half wondered if she was pulling a Beyonce!

    JHud did in fact scream and I was cringing the entire time.

    I never seen Les Mis but I heard Russel Crowe cannot sing and yeap he proved it lol

    I was puzzling and outraged over KStew’s awkward limp when she walked out with her co-presenter, and how she kept clearing her throat!!! She has absolutely no poise or grace, or actual presence when speaking. Someone needs to get her a tutor or some kind of etiquette coach, something, because she is an absolute heathen!

    Over all no real surprises in the different categories and it was so painfully boring. I didn’t think Seth brought anything to the show. Except Ted -finger twirl.-

  33. Skins says:

    Glad somebody else noticed the scream-singing. Been a recent pet peeve of mine. Not just J-Hud, just about every female singer out there is doing it nowadays. They think screaming at the top of their lungs is singing, and it is not, it is horrible

  34. Masque says:

    I suspect the inclusion of FLOTUS was a subtle message at politicians who want to cut funding for the Arts. Her speech really emphasized how important the Arts and storytelling are (and I completely agree).

    • Garvels says:

      I thought the FLOTUS insertion into the nights events was inappropriate. I am tired of politicians blasting their message in entertainment programs and yes, the FLOTUS is a politician just like her husband.

  35. ataylor says:

    Sucked big time IMHO. It’s the first time in years I have been bored watching the Oscars. The man made me yearn for Billy Crystal!

  36. Kiki says:

    Seth was great; I actually enjoyed this year’s Oscars!

  37. Sachi says:

    Eh, I liked him as a host. He did OK. I don’t think he actually wrote some of the jokes and I would think the material would have been reviewed and approved in rehearsals.

    My family liked him, too, based on what they were telling me during the show. They thought he was funny and he sold his jokes well.

    IMO except for the Chris Brown-Rihanna joke and Don Cheadle at the parking lot bit, I thought he did well.

    He was so “judging” the audience for laughing at the Kardashians joke and groaning at the Lincoln one.

    I also liked that he threw the issues of Mel Gibson and domestic violence, Clooney dating a lot of women, etc back in Hollywood’s face. Hollywood fancies itself to be above it all and act all stuck up. MacFarlane just pointed out the issues that Hollywood conveniently ignores and called them out on it.

    If it had been Ricky Gervais on that stage last night…

    • littlestar says:

      I know a lot of people didn’t like the Rihanna-Chris Brown joke, but I actually did. He was throwing shade and saying how wrong it is, which not many people in LaLaLand are doing – look at the Grammies a few years ago, people were giving Fist Brown STANDING OVATIONS. So the more Hollywood people who are saying it’s not okay, the better. That’s how I interpreted it anyway.

      • Jm says:

        littlestar – amen to you . . . that’s just how I saw it.

      • Sachi says:

        To be honest I liked the CB-Rihanna joke to an extent, but I think it was one of those that had the danger of veering off course and becoming too offensive for some people.

        It made me cringe for a bit because I thought, “Abuse should never be a joke” but it’s also “More people shouldn’t forgive and forget what CB did.”

    • Miss M says:

      Agree. HW is full of hypocrites.

      I also liked the way he handled people’s reaction to the Lincoln joke: “One 150 years and it’s still too soon?

      ps: I didn’t see the Clooney joke and I think the reason is because I tried to completely ignore him and his piece from red carpet to award ceremony.

  38. Feebee says:

    I was prepared to hate Seth MacFarlane but he was all right. Some bits fell flat but that always happens and that’s okay. Maybe my low expectations helped but I enjoyed all his jokes, good or bad. He just came across like he knew he was an unusual host choice but he was here and he was going to do it and sorry if you don’t like me but somebody will get my jokes and we’ll be fine.

    Highlights for me were Chicago and Les Mis numbers… I could imagine a few voters saw that then thought, oh crap I voted for Daniel. Even liked Crowe. Streisand was awesome, Adele too – singing and speech!

    Lawrence’s speech recovering beautifully after the trip (noticed Hugh finally got up to assist, but where was Bradley?). In fact there were lots of good speeches, DDL, Quentin…

    (OMG, just saw Jack Nicholson fanboy gushing over Jennifer Lawrence while she’s being interviewed by GMA, soooo funny and awesome!)

    Low points…. Ted bit (but how about that tie?), Jennifer Hudson’s screeching and, the sort of disjointed feel of the show. Oh and can groups of presenters please work out before hand who’s going to announce?

  39. some bitch says:

    Seth MacFarlane isn’t funny. He’s a sexist and homopobic and I am beyond over Family Guy and the other shows he’s involved with.

    Adele was pretty boring.

  40. Redd says:

    I think Seth was a solid B+, I think it was kinda outta his league and he was nervous. Shirley Bassey delivered- Beyonce and J Hud, take note. J Hud has a powerful voice, she was doing a wonderful job until she lapsed into screeching. I’m thinking K-Stew has some sort of anxiety disorder, what with the constant fidgeting and fumbling with her hands and the ever present lip chewing, if that is the case she either needs to get treated for it or stay home. It’s an awards show, there is going to be cameras and people, also, if she’s going to attend, someone should make sure she bathes. I could go the rest of my life without hearing or seeing William Shatner again, anywhere. period. Charlize Theron is so beautiful and is always perfectly dressed, hell this woman could wear a dishrag to an event and still outshine everyone there. Loved her dance number, I think it was the best part of the show.

  41. chimchimsmom says:

    Two words: SOCK PUPPETS. The re-enacting of Flight with sock puppets was hilarious. We couldn’t stop laughing at the shot with the socks going around in a dryer!

    • Kayla says:

      Yes! That and the Sally Field bit were great. Though Shatner was a little overused IMO.

    • Bird says:

      I LOVED the sock puppet reenactment and the socks in the dryer were absolutely hilarious! I thought Seth did a great job and the the Captin Kirk bit was clever.

  42. Jane says:

    Very boring and not funny. He tried though. I wouldn’t want the job. lol

    Jhudson’s singing is so overrated. It’s like there’s a lack of talent these days so there’s no one else to stand up for, so they stood up for her. Nobody really stood out at the Oscars last night anyway.

  43. Jean says:

    The singing and dancing openings at the Oscars have become a tradition, so Seth’s singing number felt forced. He lacked charm and charisma – he is no Billy Crystal. His personality and sense of humor are to dry to for the Oscars.

  44. Jean says:

    The singing and dancing opening performances have become a tradition at the Oscars – Seth’s singing number felt forced and out of character. He lacked charm and charisma as a host – he is no Billy Crystal. His personality and sense of humor are too dry for the Oscars.

  45. Sean says:

    Duplicate sorry

  46. Abby says:

    Worst moment of the night– Kristen Stewart. Dirty and rude. I can’t stand her… and I’ve seen all her movies. Just keep hoping she’ll grow up. Poor Daniel Radcliffe!

    • TG says:

      Agree K-Stew was so desperate for attention showing up late on the red carpet on crutches no less. I guess she is trying to get both the sympathy vote from us viewers and she must want Rob to rush home on a jet plane to take care of her. Barf. of course I also believe Jennifer Lawerence tripped on purpose for attention. Her awe shucks routine is getting old.

  47. Abby says:

    Side note, you know who would be great hosts? Hugh Jackman and Robert Downey Jr…. but not together.

  48. Jackson says:

    I think he gets a “C.” I think he was reigned in too much to be funny and, really, he is just not a great fit for the Oscars. I also wish more than anything that the producers would just do away with the shtick they give some of the presenters to say. Cringe-worthy. Just get up there and give whatever damn award you are presenting. And that song at the end….why?? If you must, give that time to someone who maybe worked a few years to get that damn statue, don’t give me some lame song. Ugh. And yeah, I’m with everyone who said the Shatner bit was way too long.

    And Kristen Stewart. Ugh. I almost feel bad for her. Almost. She is so painfully awkward and self conscious that I could feel for her….except…she wants us all to believe that she is so freaking harrrrrd corrrre. Ugh. She should have sat this show out because you know all people were thinking about when they saw her was her getting Mini-Coopered. Ugh. She needs to not present again unless or until she gets some true self confidence and can stand up there and not make the audience cringe.

    • myview says:

      I agree with you as I would give him a C as well. I kept waiting for something to make me really laugh out loud, it never happened. I remember Billy Crystal had openings that had the whole room laughing hard. When he inserted himself into all the nominated films it was hilarious. Billy was spontaneous and quick-witted. Seth looked lost at times, unsure if the audience was enjoying him. When Shatner was criticizing him at the beginning of the show, I thought it was a set-up. I expected a HUGE reveal and Seth going ‘Ok let’s start over, lets rock the house down!’ Never happpened.

  49. TG says:

    I loved loved Seth at the Oscars. I thought he was funny and sexy as heck in that tux and dancing, snapping his fingers and singing!!! Bring him back next year please. I agree though that they didn’t need that star trek guy and the closing song was wasted because at that point everybody either watned to go to bed or go party. My favorite part was the joke about the Family Von Trap. I laughed until I cried, but then that is my all time favorite movie.

  50. Dani says:

    I think Seth was better than Anne and James last year. Plus he’s actually kind of hot which makes it hard not to like him. His joke are meh. JHud screamed her lungs out last night; too much.

    • Sachi says:

      Billy Crystal hosted last year and his show was called boring and was panned by critics. And he did blackface.

  51. Neekie says:

    Seth had a hard gig. As a host of the Oscars he starts with a nervous audience, and as the show moves along, the audience had more and more losers. I keep thinking that hosting is more for the benefit of the tv viewer.., anyway he had our house entertained last night. Good job!

  52. Neekie says:

    Seth had a hard gig. As a host of the Oscars he starts with a nervous audience, and as the show moves along, the audience had more and more losers. I keep thinking that hosting is more for the benefit of the tv viewer., anyway he had our house entertained last night. Good job!

  53. Ryan says:

    I liked Seth. It seemed obvious to me that Catherine Zeta-Jones was lip-syncing.

  54. Bizzyb says:

    Seth is freakin’ hilarious (and dam cute). You know he couldn’t say the first thing on his mind or the 2nd, 3rd or 4th. He had to be safe. The host will never win. But I liked him.

  55. suzanne says:

    I loved Seth but he reminded me of Peter Brady. He is quite talented.

  56. Maritza says:

    I didn’t think Seth Macfarlane was funny only because I saw the last hour of the show, which was boring. Jennifer Hudson did scream, not sing. Adele was fabulous.

  57. Stephanie says:

    How did Brandi Glanville do as a fashion correspondent? I did not watch last night.

  58. Jm says:

    I shocked myself by thinking McFarlane did a great job. The parts I didn’t like (the pointless songs from Chicago, Dreamgirls and Goldfinger) weren’t his fault.

    2 thoughts:

    My girl-crush on Charlize Theron has returned. Sigh.

    No one stood up for Adele? Seriously?

  59. MsAubra says:

    I would and I’d regret NOTHING!!!

    *walks out gingerly*

  60. OXA says:

    I thought that he would have done better without the song & dance routines. I also thought that the speeches this year were bloody awful and boring.

  61. Memphis says:

    I like Seth so I really wanted to see him nail it, but…

    I Hated the overlong Shatner bit. From begining to end I was just wondering…why? It seemed annoyingly long and not worth the jokes.

    The dancing and musical numbers were way overdone..It’s not the Tonys! And the cast of Chicago??? WHY? Not relevant at all.

    The whole night went from good jokes (I really did love him there) to awkward moments and lost its flow..

    I really expected better.

    Shirley Bassey was AMAZING as was Adele even though the music seemed to over shadow Adele singing at first…and the fact Adele didn’t get an ovation but Jhud and her screeching did..ridiculous.

    Over all I wasn’t impressed with the night.. I prefer my MacFarlane in Family Guy thanks 🙂

    • lucy says:

      The producers said right before the show that they have been planning this show for 10 years. THAT explains the Chicago emphasis, since it won best pic in 2002.

      Not sure if the Shatner bit can be explained. It killed the momentum that new host McFarlane was just beginning to get, and it was a painfully tedious and unfunny disruption. The show didn’t recover after that.

      Biggest laugh of the night came from Daniel Day Lewis in his wonderfully gracious acceptance speech.

      The Theron/Channing dance number was an elegant surprise though!

      Chenowith does not have the voice for performing. Minnie Mouse on Helium is just not something my ears can handle.

      • Memphis says:

        Ahhh..10 years for Chicago. That explains it…but I didn’t care for it ten years ago either, so I guess that’s why it annoyed me so much LOL.

  62. Becca says:

    Seth is musically gifted but has no business hosting. He is classless, crass and boring. He gets a solid D from me.

    • ??? says:

      MacFarlane is a whiz at cheap, not-clever frat-boy humor. I get that the Academy Awards producers have been experimenting for a while with hosts who might reel in a younger viewing audience, but REALLY?! Was there no one else up for the job this year?!

      I was going back and forth about watching the whole show, but after sitting through Seth’s self-pandering 15-minute intro, I was no longer on the fence. The only part I liked was his bit with Sally Field.

  63. Miss M says:

    My highlights were:
    – Charlize dancing with Channing;
    – Samantha Barks on stage;
    – Aaron Tveit on stage;
    – Barbara singing;
    – The joke Seth made about Gigli (but I think he should had added the dare devil to it)

    ps: I think Zeta Jones did not sing live.

  64. India says:

    He was great. Great to look at and his singing was spectacular. I thought he was funny. He did better than anyone they have had in a long time.

  65. Apsutter says:

    He was great! Funny and self deprecating and I freaking LOVED the sock puppets! I liked the cut to Jennifer Lawrence during the “we saw your boos” song. Seth was exactly what abc and the academy wanted. A young fresh host who can get youngpeople watching.

  66. Kelly says:

    I thought he was hilarious!!

  67. Jayna says:

    I give him a solid B. He laughed at his own jokes too much. It became annoying.

  68. Jayna says:

    I demand Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host the Oscar’s next year. Book ’em quick, Academy, or the Golden Globes is going to snap them up again.

  69. Aver123 says:

    Terribe overall.
    He hosting was almost as bad as Hatheways and Franco. I could sit through Seths but not Hatheway and Franco. Those two will remain the worst.

  70. Eileen says:

    Glad you loved Shirley Bassey’s Goldfinger. Dame Shirley is 76 years old and originally recorded Goldfinger in 1964. What a gal!

  71. Jess says:

    I agree with everything. Seth was fine, I liked the live dancing but didn’t understand why there was so much love for Chicago. Ben talking about his marriage was the most awkward moment (wonder what Blake thought!) And can we discuss how annoying Kristin Chenowith was on the red carpet and at the end. I loved her on Gleen but her whole sugary sweet and “I’m so tiny” schtick was very annoying!

  72. Chrissie says:

    My favorite moment of the entire night was the Sound of Music bit that they did right before Christopher Plummer presented. I was cracking up. I think I was the only person that found that bit funny…

    • valleymiss says:

      You weren’t the only one! I was howling. TSOM is one of my favorite classic movies. Loved that Seth referenced that.

  73. Sam H x says:

    I couldn’t be bothered to stay up really late to watch it probably catch a repeat at some point. I saw a gif earlier that showed both Hugh Jackman & Bradley Cooper running up to help Jennifer Lawrence up the stairs, complete gents! I read just now JLaw has remained friends with a school friend Andy, who has down syndrome, stayed in touch with him and had nothing but kind words to say about her. He was so pleased for her when she won yesterday. So heartwarming to read. I love this girl, very pleased for her Oscar win, I hope she has a long successful career and never change Jen!

  74. suki says:

    Searching for Sugar Man is great! Definitely track it down. I think it is on itunes.

    I was so disappointed that Rodrigues didn’t show up and even more disappointed that they cut off the speech right when he started to talk about him. Bummer

  75. Diana says:

    I think Seth did pretty good, there were a few jokes that didn’t land but he made a lot of funny remarks: that Harvey Weinstein thing and the Chris Brown comment, priceless. Loved when Shatner asked why couldn’t Tina and Amy host everything! Loved Ang Lee and Adele winning. I really liked the interlude of music but I’m 80% sure Catherine Zeta Jones was lipsinging, it was especially obvious at the end. Agreed Kristen Stewart was the worst of the night, everything about her was just wrong.

  76. MisJes says:

    I thought Seth was incredible! It was fresh, the pre-recorded moments were hilarious, and his comedy was both funny and clever. LOVED all the jokes!

    I actually thought Jennifer Hudson was amazing. She wasn’t screaming, but rather showing off her voice range which is just unbelievable, IMO.

    Catherine Zeta-Jones was obviously lip-synching.

    People seem surprised that there were so many song and dance numbers, but don’t forget, Seth isn’t just the creator of Family Guy – he voice-trained with the coach of Frank Sinatra. He is an amazingly talented singer!

    Overall, it was the BEST Oscars ceremony in a very long time. I hope they bring him back!

  77. Issa says:

    I hated the drug reference referring to Joaquin. The joke implying Joaquin needed to be on drugs. Considering what happened to River ( Joaquin is still very effected by his death) it was cold & unaware. I really wasn’t laughing at anything he said afterwards because it turned me off pretty early on.

  78. skylla says:

    he is a sexist pig

  79. TalkyTina says:

    Lucy
    Feb 25 – 8:13 am
    Hudson is indeed a terrible singer, so screamy. Idol has polluted the art form.
    ——————

    I LOVE Lucy!

  80. pato says:

    I loved him! First time in years that I watched the whole ceremony. People saying he was sexist and racist need to calm down and understand sarcasm. I still can`t believe people really thought the actresses were reacting with the boobs song. 1-it was what Kirk showed happened in his past, 2-it was pre-taped. really people??
    and everybody adoring tina and amy… her comment about bigelow understanding torture because she was married to james cameron…right…isn`t that sexist? and nobody said nothing. the oscars are a show and a business, and it was macfarlane for crissake! it was obvious he was going to use his humor!

    • Eve says:

      “People saying he was sexist and racist need to calm down and understand sarcasm.”

      People here understand sarcasm pretty well. But even if they didn’t, MacFarlane would still be a sexist and racist douchebag.

      “I still can`t believe people really thought the actresses were reacting with the boobs song.”

      I assume that’s about me…well, as I’ve made CLEAR on my original comment, I didn’t watch the show (therefore I couldn’t possibly know the actresses’s reaction had been taped previously). All I saw was a short clip on CNN today morning showing Charlize Theron rolling her eyes — I didn’t know the context, nor that that musical number was about boobs. That’s why I said it SEEMED like she was throwing a bitch face at him (and that I was hoping that was indeed the case…because I can’t stand him and I love her bitch face).

      You see, I try to respect people’s opinions: you like MacFarlane, fine. Humour is subjective. But it pisses me off that EVERY. F*CKING. TIME one says anything negative about MacFarlane, his fans get defensive and suggest we “don’t get his humour” or “his sarcasm”. I get him. I get his schtick — his social/cultural/religious references are quite easy to understand (actually, most are painfully obvious, not to mention repetitive and derivative). I just think he’s simply NOT FUNNY.

      • RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

        For petes sake calm down. Youve been policing this thread up and down looking for anyone whos said they dont mind McFarlane. OK. We totally GET that you seem to HATE McFarlane. Some of us, myself included, dont mind him. You dont have to singularly dog pile on each and every commenter that shows support for him. We got your point the first time you said it.

      • Eve says:

        I replied to four people (not even confronting all four, just two of them) on this thread, how in the name of god is that “policing the thread up and down” and “dog piling on each and every commenter that shows support” for MacFarlane? That’s a false statement (not to mention insulting).

        Seriously. You have a problem with my comments, fine. But try at least to be correct/fair.

    • dana says:

      Did you ever read the New Yorker profile on McFarlan?

      He addresses the controversy of the ethnic jokes by first using the enlightened liberal defense where he’s really making fun of racists and stereotypes.

      But, then he admits he just finds those jokes funny and that there’s some truth to those stereotypes by pointing out the ethnicity of his writing staff.

      And, in the profile, he does come off as a smug, sexist d-bag- he says he’s dating a string of young starlets because he’s not looking for an intellectual equal cause he’s too tired from work at the end of the day to deal with that.

      But, this is coming from a guy who doesn’t come that intelligent or deep in the profile. Instead, he just came off as a empty suit in a empty McMansion.

  81. jamie says:

    I thought Seth did a good job–the opening monologue was a little rocky but his jokes later in the evening made me laugh. Hosting the Oscars seems like a hard job and I don’t know why anyone would want to do it. But overall I agree with everyone who though the show was a jumbled mess.

    Jennifer Lawrence had to have the most graceful fall of all time. For a split second I thought she had just sat down on the steps overcome with emotion.

    After hearing all the best supporting actors had all won Oscars before I was really missing Leo. I don’t care if he would have shown up with a 22 year-old model the Academy should have thrown him a bone.

    Loved Tarantino’s whacked out tie.

    Ang Lee is a gorgeous man who makes beautiful films. Really happy he won.

  82. StaCat1 says:

    MacFarlane was horrible…just as bad if not worse than Franco and Hathaway.
    People who think they are funny are usually the un-funniest people out there. he is a perfect example.

    He was painful and KStew was painful. I wanted someone to just take her home.

  83. Starlight says:

    He did a very good job as a host.

  84. Jane says:

    4 words—-BRING BILLY CRYSTAL BACK!!!!!!

    • Sachi says:

      You do remember Billy Crystal did blackface last year that offended a lot of people, right? His hosting was also panned by critics.

  85. Gigohead says:

    I think Seth turned the venue to be about him and only him. The first 16 minutes had nothing to do with films and he didn’t merit all the attention. He made 1 film not a miracle feat. I’d give Seth a B Minus.

    • dana says:

      +1

      It seemed that it was more about a high profile, public audition for a variety show than it was about showcasing or celebrating the movies.

      Look at that opening ‘boob’ song- it just ground the show to a halt, and it wasn’t funny or entertaining. Instead, it was all about showcasing his voice.

  86. RdyfrmycloseupmrDvlle says:

    Im in the industry and I watch each year from start to finnish. Personally I think Seth did an awesome job. I really dont get the hate for the stage design upthread. I thought it looked spectacularly gorgeous. Really gorgeous and I loved all of the musical numbers.
    Yes, some of his jokes fell flat but so what? He was different and charming edgy and unique. I thought he brought a lot of class, actually. Im shocked that some of you actually really thought the ladies of the audience were shocked and outraged by his silly song. Oh come on people.
    One thing I missed was seeing the cut aways to people reactions.
    I thought gold finger was amazing, so was adele and streisand.
    I actually enjoyed this one the most since about 6 years ago.
    The most painful part about it was KStew. As usual she looked a train wreak. IMO she really needs to just come out. She HATES being in a dress, anytime, anywhere. She never looks good in them anyway. To me she looked best and happiest as Joan Jet. She should cut her hair like that and I think jeans and boots look would work best for her. Every time the stuff her into a dress I just cringe at how obviously she LOATHES it. And the grease and messy hair? For why? The gleaming grease just looked revolting. Yes, I agree she might have been high as well.
    I felt so sorry for Radcliffe. I dont understand why she was even needed?
    Other than that. Felt it was well worth staying up late.

  87. crtb says:

    He was boring and not very funny, by 10:00 I was ready for bed.

  88. Amy says:

    I thought it was funny when the audience groaned at John Wilkes Booth shooting Abe Lincoln joke. I was as surprised as Seth. It has been over 150 years since that happened, however Lincoln is one of the most revered presidents ever, mostly because he ended slavery. It’s not like Seth could have offended anyone who knew Lincoln since they are all long dead!

  89. dana says:

    McFarlane has a technically flawless voice but all he’s doing is copying Frank Sinatra just like Family Guy copied The Simpsons and All in the Family. If McFarlane wanted to, he could also imitate and sing in the manner of other singers too.

    McFarlane has even compared his own singing to Frank Sinatra. But, the thing that separates the true artists from the me-too imitators is that the artists taps into something deeper.

    McFarlane argues that Sinatra didn’t do that either but Frank is a legend because of the songs he sang after he had his heart broken by Ava Gardner.

    You see that same mimicry in his TV shows which are just an amalgam of all the TV families he watched growing up; his creations aren’t inspired or reflective of his own family. It does lead credence to EW’s criticism of the Family Guy as “The Simpsons as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows”

  90. Lil says:

    Boring, sexist, misogynist. Fail, do not invite back.

    • Flan says:

      This. Boring and going after easy targets. MacFarlane is just a coward, who is ‘offensive’, but not to the powerful guys he wants to stay friends with.

  91. cubfan34 says:

    I thought he was OK. Better than Billy Crystal last year. I love the Oscars no matter what. I don’t really expect it to be boffo entertainment, just keep it moving.

    My big gripe was with the “In Memorium”. There were very few actors shown. They could have kept showing pictures as Streisand sang. The set was ugly, too.

    I hate that stupid half hour preshow ABC started a few years back. It’s pointless. Get the thing started at 7(CT) so I can get to bed at a reasonable hour.