The Oscars

Well, the Academy Awards went pretty much the way I thought they would. While I predicted "Brokeback Mountain" would win the Best Picture prize, I was fully prepared for the "Crash" upset (see my Friday predictions essay).

A few thoughts:

-Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech was the most genuine of the evening.

-John Stewart did the best he could. A suggestion: Let's cut the host, the monologue, the musical numbers, and the montages out of the show next year. Stick with giving out the awards and I guarantee, not only will the show come in under 3 hours, but ABC might increase their audience as well.

-It used to be that the Best Picture and Best Director prizes went to the same movie. It was a very rare occassion when the Academy would split their ballot. But over the last several years it seems Oscar voters are more than happy to spread the wealth and last night was another example of Hollywood ballot-splitting, with Ang Lee taking the much deserved Director prize and "Crash" walking away with Best Picture.