I caught the first two hours of the 80th Academy Awards, leaving for a train right before a nice bit, which warrants a bit of a prologue. First, it is just silly that with all the songs out there, one movie (the charming Enchanted) had three of the ones nominated. Were there so few original songs out there? And, they ruined one of them by just having the actress sing it, when the whole charm was the dancing vermin etc. in the background. They couldn't like project scenes or something behind her? She did sing it quite well, even vis-a-vis the other two that did have production numbers. And, obviously, they didn't win -- canceling out.
A deserving song did win, one from the musical Once, starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who also did their own singing/performing. The problem was that they were both soft spoken and had accents, the film taken place overseas. So, honestly, I could not understand many of the lyrics. Anyway, the two won, and Glen was cut off after a few remarks. Jon Stewart -- who was not as bad as one sports duo suggested, but was sorta bland -- let the woman (apparently as quiet in real life as in the movie) have her say after the commercial.
Sometimes, it is one of the lesser knowns that have the best speech. Now, many of the nominees were obscure, so even major winners such as Javier Bardem (who had a nice bit in Spanish about his mom -- I assume it was nice) and Marion Cotillard (charmingly speechless with her win for best actress ... might have to see her movie about a singer) were not too well known. I missed Diablo Cody, the stripper turned screenwriter (Juno), but did catch her on Dave a month or so ago, in her tattooed glory. You can see where the 'tude of the movie came from. One of the various foreigners who won that basically said "thanks" had a nice speech.
Some films/people were robbed, at least to the degree of not being nominated. I personally liked Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises and thought Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days deserved at least to be nominated. But, it simply annoyed me that Ratatouille won over Persepolis, a truly special film, above and beyond its animated form. The goofy clip showing the character's sudden burst of puberty does not really do the film justice.
A nod to technicals, including Sweeney Todd for Art Direction, since movie without them would be radio, if not filmed plays. The opening was lame. The ratings were low outside of New York and L.A. such areas. The writer's strike and somewhat dubious bunch of flicks (even the good ones were somewhat a special taste sort of thing with a nod toward depressing and blood) probably helped. Movies continued to entertain, all the same.
Oh, Waitress probably deserved a nod, at least a nomination.