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I missed the Oscars last night. But I really wasn’t curious about the winners because I thought Brokeback Mountain had it covered this year. The ‘epic’ love story of two gay cowboys had certainly rocked the critics world and I guess, the box-office collections weren’t bad for a morally reignited America. But surprise, surprise, the Oscar for the Best Picture went to Crash. For a change, I totally agree with this choice. I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain yet but I absolutely loved Crash. It was a hard-hitting movie making no bones for that little bit of racist in each one of us.
But I really wanted to watch the show not for the award and certainly not for “what did the celebs wear” but for watching Jon Stewart emcee the ceremony. He is the funniest TV show host these days and when I had cable, I never missed the Daily Show. I tried looking up reviews of his performance. Strangely, WaPo has a scathing critical review and they even go to the extent of labeling him the ‘worst host ever’ (even worse than David Letterman who everyone had agreed was pretty bad). AP calls him disappointing too; so did Reuters. From what I understand without having watched the show is that probably most of them didn’t get his humor. Either that or Stewart is best suited for political humor that works best on a small set and not on a grand set broadcast live to the nation where you have to be politically correct.
by Patrix | on Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 10:12 am | 
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March 6th, 2006 at 11:44 am reply
I watched the show specifically for Jon Stewart. I would say he did a ‘okay’ job. He did not have the audience rolling on the floor, but there were some nice jokes (I loved it when he said Bjork was supposed to come to the show but was shot by Dick Cheney - referring to Bjork’s infamous ’swan’ dress many Oscars ago). Frankly speaking, if you think about it, all the host needs to do is deliver an opening monolgue, which has become predictable (poke fun at Hollwyood, some celebrities, maybe a sly political dig) and then introduce some of the presenters with a funny line - they might as well get a robot for that.
The thing is that Jon Stewart makes a living by mocking institutions such as the Academy, that takes itself waaay too seriously. In any other year, all the hyperobolic, self-reverential pomp and paegentry at the Oscars would have been material for his Monday evening show ( I am guessing he will still make fun of himself). There is only so much scatching satire you can direct at the people who are paying for your gig.
March 6th, 2006 at 12:42 pm reply
Im a long time Jon Stewart fan and I loved his perfomance. Some of the jokes were typical Jon Stewart (the subtle jabs) and suprisingly I think much of the audience didnt even get it. Im not suprised with the WaPost review.
March 6th, 2006 at 12:42 pm reply
Bongo, I read some of the jokes that he cracked but often the best part of his comedy routine is the way he delivers them. But you are right, Oscars are a pretty staid stage for any humor and in spite of that Billy Crystal had always impressed
Kuttan, for a rabid Stewart fan, it is easily believable that most of the audience didn’t get it. His humor is much more…dare I say, ‘intellectual’ (in spite of his wierd face expressions) and the sarcastic sense of humor doesn’t go down well with everyone. But then again, his humor might not be suited for the Oscar stage where you need one-liners that can be mouthed by a robot equally well.
March 7th, 2006 at 8:59 pm reply
I mostly liked Jon Stewart Sunday night, but I did think his delivery was a little slow. Billy Crystal was always crisp and fast. With Stewart there were a lot of (to me) awkward pauses.
March 7th, 2006 at 9:24 pm reply
Ed, I watched his monologue yesterday and I have to agree with you about the awkward pauses. And his pauses are always his humor hallmarks but somehow they don’t work for the Oscar stage. Was he nervous?