And the Oscar goes to– a film some viewers just learned the name of and most never saw. The Hurt Locker not only won the Oscar for “Best Picture” , but it also made history twice. It’s the lowest grossing film to ever win the coveted award. And director Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to ever win as Best Director… beating out her ex-hubby James Cameron. Although the media had a blast with the battle of the exes, the two claim they are good friends and collaborators. And either Cameron was genuinely happy for Bigelow’s win- or he deserves an Oscar for his performance.
The Academy Awards was the classic tale of David and Goliath. The low budget film with a powerful punch and a story relevant to our time triumphed over Cameron’s socially conscious futuristic and highest grossing blockbuster of all time. Although the blow left some Avatar fans blue, Bigelow won over most hearts after she sincerely thanked our men and women in uniform in both of her acceptance speeches.
Speaking of speeches, they were pretty heartfelt and to the point this year. Mo’Nique delivered another strong and powerful one. Sandra Bullock thanked her mom.
Jeff Bridges was cool as always man. Other highlights of the evening included the John Hughes tribute where former Brat Packers took the stage to honor the late director. Although it was a bit frightening to see how some have aged, it brought a sense of nostalgia and an overwhelming desire to watch The Breakfast Club. It was especially nice to give every best actor and actress nominee a shining moment and short tribute.
I think Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin really did a great job co-hosting. They kept it classy. Things that made us go hmmm… the absence of Farrah Fawcett (who starred in 14 feature films) from the “In Memoriam” segment. What was Sean Penn talking about? The awkward Kanye West-esque moment” when Roger Ross Williams who won for his short documentary was interrupted mid sentence. I found the Ben Stiller emulating an Avatar character funny for a few seconds and then transitioning into poor taste. It’s the Academy Awards– not the Teen Choice Awards for goodness sake. And poor Kristen Stewart coughing while trying to present.
As far as fashion… Zoe Saldana had the strangest and most talked about dress. The top was stunning but what the heck was up with that bottom? Charlize Theron– who rarely has a fashion miss- really struck out. Everyone else played it safe (even Mariah was more covered than usual) with some neutrals, but mostly metallics and a few pops of crimson (good job Penelope Cruz and Vera Farmiga… did anyone else notice how spectacular Michelle Pfeiffer looked on stage?) and blue (done especially well by Maggie and Mo’Nique). Besides golden gal Sandra Bullock with sleek locks, there were a lot of up-dos and quite a few frizzies– including SJP, JLo and Rachel McAdams.
