Are you talkin’ to me?
The long red carpet can be rolled up and put back in the closet until next season; the Oscars are all distributed. It took a lifetime for Scorsese to finally receive a statuette, and Morricone proved that his music is better than his English. Unfortunately, those were the best parts of the evening.
Maybe we need to resurrect Bob Hope, or at least invite Billy Crystal back into the front row. Ellen DeGeneres did not fill their shoes. Her best of the night required Steven Spielberg as a photographer. All the rest was second string.
Even the “red carpet show” lacked. Not enough big cars, over the top dresses or embarassing remarks for my liking. Or, in this new green world, not enough small electric carts, dresses from recycled plastics or embarassing remarks. Maybe next year.
But, the movie collages that served as filler did carry the load. Out of a lifetime of contact with Hollywood, via the TV late at night, or the rare trip to the Odeon, we pick up a huge personal bank of visual memories. When the edit crew produces one of these two minute masterpieces and the realisation that “Hey, I’ve seen a lot of these before” sinks in, I have to admit that someone is doing a good job.
So there, until next year, when a really big birthday comes along.
