Oscars Telecast Review: Kudos for Tackling Controversies, Low Marks for Pacing
Despite host Neil Patrick Harris’ adept stage presence, he couldn’t keep the show from feeling heavy and long
Jethro Nededog | February 22, 2015 @ 10:25 PM
Last Updated: February 23, 2015 @ 12:34 AM
The Oscars telecast should be commended for taking on its controversies right from host Neil Patrick Harris’ energetic start, but it faltered in its pacing.
Early on Harris acknowledged this year’s biggest controversy — the fact that civil rights film “Selma” only got two nominations and for the first time in nearly two decades no person of color received an acting nomination.
“Welcome to the 87th Oscars,” Harris started. “Tonight, we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest, sorry brightest.”
He then skipped the usual monologue to jump right into a really entertaining musical number that included plenty of special effects, holograms and extras to transport Harris into the industry’s most iconic movies.
Jack Black‘s appearance during the number addressed the way some of us are feeling in the post-Sony hack era leaks – that the industry can feel selfish, money-driven and lacking in innovation. All that is easier to digest via song.
Harris was certainly entertaining in the moments between giving out awards and he appeared in just his tighty-whities a la “Birdman” – so that’s dedication. But he played the gig too safely. And at times his lines didn’t measure up to the weight of the moment.
Where the show failed was in its pacing. The first hour or two hit viewers with the original song nominations and then fell off, leaving the audience with the pedestrian handing-out of awards, the In Memoriam section, the Academy presidents’ address and whatever random drama the winners generated during their speeches.
The In Memoriam could have been more moving and timesaving if Jennifer Hudson sang over the presentation rather than singing afterward.
There were some rousing moments during Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs’ address, which seemed firmly rooted in defending freedom of expression without actually referring to the events surrounding Sony and “The Interview.” But as an African-American, she could have responded to the race controversy – that would have been momentous.
A pairing of John Travolta and Idina Menzel after the actor butchered her name during last year’s ceremony made for a creepy reunion, which wasn’t helped by his grasping her face between his hands.
Thankfully, there were moments that weren’t under producers Craig Sadan and Neil Meron‘s control. We saw Patricia Arquette accept her first Oscar nomination and then go on to advocate for the fight for equal pay for women in the industry – another unspoken reference to the Sony hack, which revealed many actors’ salaries. It made for a perfect Meryl Streep moment.
And Graham Moore, the winning writer of “Imitation Game,” encouraged everyone to “stay weird” after sharing a shocking story of his own attempted suicide at age 16.
Oscar Best Song winner John Legend directly referenced current political issues mirrored “Selma,” the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic for which he and Common wrote the Oscar-winning song “Glory.” https://www.thewrap.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=429951&action=edit&message=1
But in the end, Harris’ pithy lines and the musical smoke and mirrors couldn’t save the show from its terrible pacing.
Oscars Red Carpet Arrivals (Photos)
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Jennifer Lopez ("Boy Next Door")
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Meryl Streep ("Into the Woods")
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Lady Gaga and Keira Knightley ("The Imitation Game")
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Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club")
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Justin Theroux ("The Leftovers") and Jennifer Aniston ("Cake")
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Scarlett Johansson ("The Avengers")
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Nicole Kidman ("Paddington")
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Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Imitation Game") with wife Sophie Hunter
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Jennifer Hudson
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Kerry Washington ("Scandal")
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Jessica Chastain ("A Most Dangerous Year")
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Director Ava DuVernay ("Selma")
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Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave")
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Reese Witherspoon ("Wild")
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Viola Davis ("How to Get Away with Murder")
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Supermodel Chrissy Teigen
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Jennifer Aniston ("Cake") and Emma Stone ("Birdman")
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Ellar Coltrane
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Rita Ora ("Fifty Shades of Grey")
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Chloe Grace Moretz ("Kick-Ass")
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Cate Blanchett ("The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies")
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Bradley Cooper ("American Sniper")
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Zoe Saldana ("Guardians of the Galaxy")
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Sienna Miller ("American Sniper")
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Naomi Watts ("Birdman")
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Rosamund Pike ("Gone Girl")
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Recording artist Adam Levine with model Behati Prinsloo
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Julianne Moore ("Still Alice")
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Marion Cotillard ("Two Days, One Night")
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David Oyelowo ("Selma") and Michael Keaton ("Birdman")
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Steve Carell ("Foxcatcher") with wife Nancy Carell
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Melanie Griffith with daughter Dakota Johnson ("Fifty Shades of Grey")
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Laura Dern ("Wild")
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Margot Robbie ("Focus")
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Joanna Newsom ("Inherent Vice") and Andy Samberg ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine")
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J.K. Simmons ("Whiplash")
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Carmen Ejogo ("Selma")
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Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris with husband David Burtka
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Recording artists Faith Hill, in J. Mendel, and Tim McGraw
Recording artists Tegan Quin and Sara Quin ("Everything Is Awesome" from "The Lego Movie")
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Model Karolina Kurkova rocks Marchesa
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Anna Kendrick ("The Last 5 Years") in Thakoon
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Josh Hutcherson ("The Hunger Games")
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Gina Rodriguez ("Jane the Virgin")
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Jamie Chung in Yanina Couture
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America Ferrera in Jenny Packham
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Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck
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Kelly Preston and John Travolta
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Ryan Seacrest
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TV personalities Charissa Thompson and Mario Lopez
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Michael Strahan
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Set decorator Tatiana MacDonald ("The Imitation Game") and production designer Maria Djurkovic ("The Imitation Game")
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Michael Keaton with "Birdman" director Alejandro González Iñárritu
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"Good Morning America" TV personality Robin Roberts
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Composer Hans Zimmer ("Interstellar")
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Disney Channel star Zendaya
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Kevin Hart ("Get Hard")
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John Stamos ("Full House")
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Oscar statues outside the entrance of the Dolby Theatre
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Gwyneth Paltrow
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See what all of the Oscar nominees, presenters and guests are wearing as they arrive at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the 87th annual Academy Awards