It's been a fun night, watching the Academy Awards. Here are some of my comments, as the show goes on:
-- Good news: Baz Luhrmann created that spectacular number, celebrating the return of the movie musical. Luhrmann's touch -- in "Moulin Rouge," "Romeo and Juliet," "Australia" and more -- is masterful. This was a grand moment.
-- Bad news: Five presenters for one awards? That's approximately four too many.
-- Good: Hugh Jackman can really deliver a song, including the clever ones written about the best-movie nominees. That may have been the best song ever to use the word "excrement."
-- Bad: Forget the music and Jackman may have had the fewest jokes of any host in modern Oscar history.
-- Good: Fortunately, lots of other people made jokes. The bit by Steve Martin and Tina Fey was one of the best ever.
-- Bad: Martin wasn't the host. He should be, every year.
-- Good: The "Slumdog Millionaire" songs were beautifully presented. Great dancing and choreographer, in a limited space.
-- The bad: Lots of dull acceptance speeches. Don't these people think about it in advance?
-- The good: An occasional great speech. It was wonderful to hear the guy talk about growing up in Utah, then moving to the more-open world of San Francisco. Now he's written an Oscar-winning script about Harvey Milk, who helped spur the gay-rights movement.
-- The bad: Kate Winslet, a great actress, is still a so-so speech-giver. After her two bad Golden Globe speeches, I had her on my no-more-awards list. I rescinded that because of the brilliance of her performance in "The Reader"; she was better this time, but I might put her back on the list.
-- The good: For Michigan people, it's good to know that Andrea Meditch, the new MSU faculty member, had a weekend sweep. "Man on Wire" -- she was one of the six producers -- was named best documentary at the Oscars and at the Independent Spirit awards. That's a pretty good weekend.
-- The great: Hey, Robert De Niro really is a funny guy. His speech about Sean Penn (like De Niro, a great actor) was delightful.
-- Also: There was a lot of talk about Mickey Rourke winning best-actor. Penn won and included a little Rourke tribute. I didn't see these two films, but any victory by Penn is a good thing.
-- And finally: "Slumdog Millionaire" is best picture, as it should be. Yes, "Benjamin Button" is a meticulously well-crafted film. Still, nothing matches the ragged, eccentric, wild brilliance of "Slumdog." One movie ranged from a kid soaked in excrement to a joyous Bollywood number. This is the creative zest that marks an Oscar.