Oscar Recap

The show is over. All the gold statues have been given out. The winners are happy and the losers...well, I hope people feel that there are no losers. When they say it's an honor to be nominated, it's very true. Just watch most any movie trailer and notice how it seems to give a bit more weight to a person's name, and the movie, when the words "Oscar nominee" are spoken before their name.

Last night's show started out pretty well. Hugh Jackman sang and danced his way through some pretty amusing economy friendly props, pulling Anne Hathaway up on stage to stand in as Richard Nixon at one point. The jokes weren't bad, pointing out at one point the way the nominations showcased actors who played a diverse range of characters (Kate Winslet being English and playing a German, Robert Downey, Jr. being American playing an Australian who played an African-American), and then commenting on the fact that he (Jackman) is Australian who played an Australian in a movie called Australia...and he was hosting the show.

For the most part, the winners were pretty predictable. Heath Ledger received his much deserved Academy Award for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight. (His father, mother and sister accepted it on behalf of his little girl, Matilda. I just love that name.) Penelope Cruz won the Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Vicky Christina Barcelona, a movie I have to say I probably won't see since I'm not a Woody Allen fan. (I think he's kind of overrated.) Best Actor went to Sean Penn for his role of Harvey Milk in the movie Milk. (Penn's second Oscar.) Best Actress went to Kate Winslet for her role in The Reader.

I was glad to see Heath Ledger win, but a small bit disappointed in the others. (Not that they didn't deserve the recognition, I just tend to like the "underdog" as it were.) I would loved to have seen Mickey Rourke pick up an award for his role in The Wrestler. But, even if he didn't take home the gold statue, he truly was one of the biggest winners of the evening, earning acknowledgement from winners, presenters and the host throughout the night. His comeback is truly a great story.

For Best Actress, I would have loved to see Melissa Leo win for Frozen River simply because I'm a fan from her days on the TV show "Homicide: Life in the Street." For Actress in a Supporting Role...well, I haven't seen any of the movies, but I think I would have loved to see Taraji P. Henson win this one, simply from what I've heard about her and her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture honors, and since I have yet to see any of the nominated films, I can't really comment on this. I do have to say that it's nice to see small films such as this one win, and no one really complains when they do. It's like the little film that could...they come up from behind and trudge up the hill to the ultimate prize.

The Oscars will be talked about incessantly for weeks to come, as they are every year. The fashions will make news and postings, and this blog will be no exception. And next year, we'll gear up to start it all over again.

At the end of the telecast, scenes from upcoming movies were shown, and I have to say I'm looking forward to the coming year in movies. There will be so much to talk about, and I just love to talk. :-)