Is it just me, or was Chris Rock just OK — nothing to rave about — as Oscar host?
The advance billing was that Rock, as a “cutting edge” comedian, was going to open a new chapter in the Oscars by taking comedy yet another step into the 21st Century. There have been comedic shifts before: Johnny Carson replaced Bob Hope as emcee, signalling a generational change — and then came the era of Billy Cyrstal and all the rest.
But Rock was symbolic in the sense that he truly typifies the new comedians. And, yes, he got praise from some critics such as in this AP story:
LOS ANGELES – Apropos for an Oscar ceremony in which the boxing movie “Million Dollar Baby” was the big winner, host Chris Rock came out swinging Sunday night, unleashing his acerbic wit on anyone and everyone in Hollywood — including himself.
Rock kept it clean compared to the profanity that fills his standup comedy routine. But he slung the mud in a way that kept the audience laughing.
“All right! Sit your a—- down!” he shouted after walking on stage in a white tie and tux and receiving a standing ovation from many in the star-studded crowd.
Then he let ’em have it.
His main point: Filmmakers should wait for better talent instead of rushing bad movies into theaters.
“Clint Eastwood’s a star, OK? Tobey Maguire’s just a boy in tights,” Rock joked.
“You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. `Alexander’ is not `Gladiator.”‘
Etc. But it was relatively tame (with one bit he did with Adam Sandler being notably lame) and any political zingers he threw would be inoffensive except to those who believe its a crime do dare criticize someone they like.
It deserved a shrug of the shoulders and one word…eh?
But there’s another view to this: Rock was enough of a professional to fit his comedy into the stylistic girdle the Oscar producers gave him. Censors were lurking — and tinkering — out there. And, in the end, the show didn’t last several lifetimes and ended in a reasonable amount of time.
Some other highlights:
–Jamie Foxx’s acceptance speech as best actor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in “Ray.” Truly a class act.
–Clint Eastwood’s appearances to accept awards for best director and best picture for “Million Dollar Baby.” Eastwood is someone who has taken risks throughout his career and it was satisfying to see Hollywood give him his due before his obituary appears in the newspaper. Eastwood more often than not selects quality material and when he directs he adheres to a style more firmly rooted in classic films than what you see in many movies today. And his films have been commercially successful as well.
UPDATE: Aha: we aren’t alone in our view because the Washington Post also felt that this year’s Oscars was as exciting as a plate of cold, day old spaghetti:
Chris Rock jokingly welcomed viewers to “the 77th, and last, Academy Awards” last night but this Oscar show, nervously televised from Hollywood on ABC, will more likely turn out to be the first, and last, to be hosted by Rock. Though a brilliant and caustic stand-up comedian, Rock’s stint as an Oscar host was strangely lame and mean-spirited.
LAME! That’s the word I was searching for. Thank you, Washington Post! More:
The Oscars are losing their status as a big national party and turning instead into de facto political conventions — and if there’s anything TV and the nation don’t need, it’s more of those. Chances are the ratings for this year’s Oscar show will not be especially high and might be especially low, unless Rock turns out to have been enough of a name to bring viewers back to their sets. More likely, the whole horrible mess will have to be rethought once again, and next year’s Oscarcast will be preceded by a fresh wave of hype about how new and improved it all is.
The Post then wonders if Billy Crystal will come to the rescue again next year. Why Crystal? There ARE other comedians out there — comedians who can bring some zest and zip to a routine under the time and 21st Century censorship constraints under which the Oscars are now broadcast.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.