Post-78th Oscar thoughts...

The 78th Academy Awards were boring. Jon Stewart looked apprehensive and was a disappointment as a funny man. I expected more edge from him. Next year, maybe they can try Bill Maher. Or George Clooney. And the Oscars had the second smallest audience in almost two decades. The smallest audience in twenty years was in 2003 when Chicago won best picture.

The montage of "gay" moments from westerns was hilarious.

How,exactly, do they decide that Heath Ledger rates a nomination for Best actor while Jake Gyllenhaal, who was equally prominent in Brokeback Mountain, only gets the Support Actor nomination?

Did anyone notice that in Syriana, George Clooney was the main character, yet he was nominated for and won, Best Supporting Actor? Was his character not prominent enough to be a Best Actor nominee?

Crash, winner of the Best Picture, didn't have anyone as Best Actor or Actress, since it had no central character.

Lauren Bacal is 82 and she shouldn't be asked to read from the teleprompter again. She was painfull to watch, which is not the way such an elegant and legendary star should be remembered. She will be remembered that way, however, by the younger folks who haven't seen her films.

What was up with Ang Lee trying to make a joke by repeating the much mocked line "I wish I knew how to quit you"? It went over like a sack of wet noodles.

Ben Stiller made me laugh with his "floating head" routine, dressed in a green unitard.



Coolest cat of the evening, was, of course, the liberal George Clooney, he of shifting glances and eyes rolling whenever references were made to him.

Second biggest surprise of the evening...Three 6 Mafia winning best song with "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp," topping Dolly Parton, who's tune "Travelin' Through" wasn't especially strong.

Some of Jon Stewart's jokes:

"Bjork couldn't be here tonight, she was trying on her Oscars dress and Dick Cheney shot her."

"'Schindler's List' and 'Munich.' I think I speak for all Jews when I say I can't
wait to see what happens to us next."