Oscars Anyone?
Okay I have to admit I am one of those people who will sacrifice a social life in order to watch The Oscars in peace. Sunday night I changed into my most comfortable PJ's, made some popcorn, got out some chocolate (the good stuff, not that Hershey crap), sat on my oversized couch and prepared myself for 4+ hours of bad jokes, awkward speeches and crazy wardrobe choices...and I must say...I loved every minute of it!
Let's start off with the first most memorable moment of the night, Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar baby! WOO HOO!! I remember right before I went in the theater to watch "Dream Girls" I didn't quite understand the fuss everyone was making about her, but as soon as she sang at the climax of the film it felt as if everyone in the theater stopped breathing for a moment. She is that good! Way to go girl!
The second coolest moment was when Forrest Whittaker won Best Actor for "The Last King of Scotland." I have loved this guy ever since I saw "Phenomenon." And guess what? This time during his speech he was actually coherent! At first I actually thought the dude might pass out or drool, but turns out that Forrest is DA MAN!! Not only was he coherent, but his speech was so positive and sincere that I may have shed a tear or two....or 38... what?
I have to say as soon as I saw Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas come on stage to present the Oscar for Best Director I almost had a mini flip out!! I mean COME ON!! The creators of Jurassic Park, The Godfather and Star Wars were on stage together and the only one missing was none other than Martin Scorsese. Marty WON! And man did he deserve to win that night. I'm not even talking about just winning because he's been robbed of the Oscar for years, but because "The Departed" kicked some serious ass! That movie was practically perfect from beginning to end. Marky Mark and his funky bunch were so great together! I just pictured Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo Dicaprio and Jack Nicholson in a boy band together....good times. Okay seriously now, I haven't watched a movie this good in years. And trust me on that, because I go to movies all the time. Some may say too much, however I say having a social life is overrated. Why do I feel sad all of a sudden? Ah well...
The only real downer of the night for me was when "Water" didn't win for best picture. I was choked because it was such a great movie which brought to light topics that most of us know very little about. It was beautifully made piece of art but it was a tough category. I have to say that I was surprised that Pan's Labrynth didn't take the gold home since it was the favorite. It goes to show you though, Oscars are never a sure bet. I'm still really proud of the Desi connection to the Oscars the past few years. First it was "Lagaan," and now "Water." Whether the films are coming out of Canada, India or the USA, our community is doing great and making films that matter to us and the rest of the world. Applause, applause, applause... Oh yeah, where in the world was Lisa Ray and John Abraham? I looked and looked and LOOKED but could not see them anywhere. And my TV is huge!
Last but not least, let's talk about Ellen shall we? I personally think she did a really good job. She made me laugh, and when she brought the choir out to sing praise to the nominees I may have, for a second, started singing along. She's so quirky! The rest of the show was fun, didn't feel as long as last year with John Stewart. And the musical numbers were pretty damn good. Even though I loved the songs from "Dream Girls" I was thrilled when Melissa Etheridge's song won for "An inconvenient Truth." She really had her heart and soul in that song and hats off to her!
That about covers it for my first official Oscar recap. If you need to sit back for a moment and take it all in, do it. To me this is really funny because I used to just irritate my friends and family about this stuff, but now I get to write it down for all of you. Strange how life works out...peace!
