Why Does Anyone Want the Job of Hosting The Oscars?
Monday, February 25, 2013 at 12:29PM All That (85th Oscars) Jazz
The Big Night: Fun Arrivals, Winner's List, Jennifer Lawrence in the Press Room
The Look Back: Funniest Tweets, & Season Finale Podcast
The Fashions: Fifteen Men, The Ten Nominated Ladies, Goodbye Glamour
The Opening Monologue
As today's reviews will surely attest, Seth MacFarlane bombed badly last night in the unenviable host position. Why anyone would want the job is beyond me. Occasionally someone will get 'good job' reviews (Hugh Jackman, Billy Crystal, etcetera) but those positive reviews almost never come directly after the show but later in context once they're sized up in memory against newer worse hosting gigs. Nearly everyone gets mixed to negative reviews in the moment. Fact: people love to hatewatch the Oscars. To his credit (eep), MacFarlane understood this and even attempted to get out in front of the criticism by mocking it. In his interminable opening monologue (18 minutes!) he was visited from the future by Captain Kirk (William Shatner) - a joke more suited to the Emmys which he'd be a better host of given that he's a television personality -- who showed him the headlines from the next morning.
It was funny because it was true. But the gag continued. As the monologue progressed his reviews improved until he got somewhere around "mediocre". It wasn't funny because it wasn't true. [Editor's Note: The "worst" part isn't true. That title will obviously and forever belong to James Franco who couldn't be bothered to show (in spirit) though he undoubtedly cashed the check.]
See, Captain Kirk was right. His jokes were "inappropriate and offensive" and we all DID wish it were Tina & Amy hosting instead (a weird shoutout to the Golden Globes, which were without question the highlight of this awards season as televised events go though Oscar Night usually plays "no comment" on that precursor). Worse than MacFarlane's fratboy jokes though was that the humor seemed entirely centered around HIM, as if we were watching The Oscars to send 3½ hours with MacFarlane and not with the biggest movie stars in the world. Oops. Somehow doesn't know why people tune in to the Oscars.
Each year the media and the producers and even the general public play a little complicit game of "OOOH, ____ IS HOSTING AND NOW WE'RE EXCITED". But it's never the hosts. It's the movies and the movie stars! Mostly the hosts do best when they show up for brief intervals and make a funny but stay out of the way so we can gawk at stars and remember the year's most celebrated pictures and, for the less devoted, make a mental grocery list of movies we want to see now.
Perhaps Captain James T Kirk can tell us if any future Oscar Producers and Hosts figure that out.
The three most terrible moments:
- That joke about Quvenzhané and Clooney. I've since blocked it out but I have a vague memory of being offended.
- Flight reenacted with sock puppets. (Somehow there was a lot of laughter in the Dolby. Please tell me that was a laugh track and not actual enjoyment)
- That weird flying nun / seducing Sally Field skit.
So as not to be a total downer -- I enjoy the Oscars even when they're lame! -- here were a few things I think worked about Seth's performance.
- He sings well. His love of musicals was obvious and gave us fun expected moments like Charlize Theron (originally a dancer) and Channing Tatum dancing together and even a kickline with Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Daniel Radcliffe who both have a song & dance man inside of them.
- As stupid as that "we saw your boobs" number was -- it would have been much funnier if it were shorter -- the actresses who filmed reaction shots were good sports with solid comic timing and the Kate Winslet punchline was great. (Oh shut up, I bet she laughed from home). In an evening full of dumb jokes, inevitably some of them will land.
- Later in the show when he wasn't taking up so much space he was better. His introductions were sometimes amusing (loved the Channing Tatum / Jennifer Aniston intro) and I especially enjoyed the "needs no introduction" introduction for you know who, didn't you? I mean, she doesn't!
Do you have against-the-grain kind words for Seth MacFarlane or are you already making a mental list of 500 celebrities who would have done a better job last night? (If so care to share a few of them?)
And why does anyone want the job of hosting -- beyond the cash -- given that it's rather like having a worldwide target on your tuxedo'ed back?
P.S. Don't forget to like The Film Experience on Facebook. Please and thx
Reader Comments (64)
I personally thought Seth did a really great job... Why is no one mentioning the Christopher Plummer intro?? That was definitely one of the highlights of the night for me.
He was definitely uneven but not totally terrible. I kind of had a problem more with the shows production , they rushed through categories but spent nearly 20 minutes on the opening monologue! Not a lot of good reaction shots when he was ribbing someone etc. And the sexist jokes didn't land at all and you can tell many of the actresses in three audience did not enjoy it. I think it's because he is a bit of an unknown quantity, Tina and Amy can get away with a James Cameron torture joke , because of the delivery and the general good will towards them, Seth was unable to land similar jokes (like the Chris Brown / Rihanna one)
I agree.. thought he did pretty well. Enjoyable show.. the Von Trapp joke was brilliant!!
I thought that intro was basically an episode of Family Guy.. (oscar edition)
At least he was an actual HOST.. he didn't disappear off the stage after the opening monologue like some others (BIlly Crystal last year) before him, but actually hosted the show.
I thought he was a terrific host and quite hilarious. I really don't understand the criticism. There is an article about how anti-feminist he is in The Guardian, which rather misses the point that he delivers in more than a little bit of an ironic tone. He's one of the most liberal guys around!
What do people really expected from him? I mean REALLY... We have to stop putting up false hopes for the hosts because we always get dissapointed and every year it's the same f*cking story.
He did a fine job. Better than last year, and obviously years beyond Franco and Hathaway. I have to go back to Ellen or Hugh to find another good host.
*Actresses in the audience , stupid autocorrect
Re: People we'd like to see host the ceremony --
The chemistry between Daniel Day Lewis and Meryl Streep, along with their respect for the artistry involved in making quality films, makes me wish that they would be tagged to host the next Oscars. Let the Globes function as a forum to watch stars being inappropriate and tacky (did Jennifer Lawrence really have to be immortalized flipping of photographers right after her win?) and let the Oscars return to being a celebration of the best that Hollywood has to offer.
Pigs like Seth MacFarlane are the reason sexist entertainment numbers like "we saw your boobs" make it into the mainstream. But a few ladies (including Jennifer Lawrence and Naomi Watts, who were very funny) came in ahead of time to film reaction shots for it. Besides the unironic premise that women's bodies in art can be reduced to boobs men get to see, he joked about seeing Scarlett Johansson naked "on our phones!" In real life, that hacking situation involved the FBI and she's spoken at length about how it violated her. The Jodie Foster movie he mentioned involved a violent rape scene.
Like I said, I have low expectations for Seth MacFarlane, but how on earth does a woman approve of this and take part in it? You have a choice, Naomi! I blame Charlize Theron's game-for-anythingness for participating and chalk Jennifer Lawrence down to not being a particularly thoughtful woman.
I think that we all have been programmed to have knee-jerk hate reactions to anyone who hosts the ceremony, albeit to varying degrees. As with any type of comedy, it's all a matter of personal taste. Those of us familiar with his work, particularly "Family Guy," knew what to expect and weren't disappointed. Because film isn't his element, there was a sort of apparent uneasiness about his presentation -- especially considering that he isn't one who ordinarily interfaces with celebrities in the way that actors and late-night talk show hosts do. Still, he kept me entertained, which is more than I can say for some of the past choices.
I thought he was perfectly great. Maybe it was the champagne I was drinking but I thought his stuff was pretty funny and moved along at a fairly good clip. The musical numbers he did were pretty great too. It didn't feel to me like the deadly bomb of David Letterman and HE has had years of hosting experience unlike Seth.
I thought the ending "Mediocre!" host headline was absolutely spot-on. Funny moments, but that opening "monologue" dragged (as did the show itself) outside of the dancing, the boobs number (which, yes, would have been much funnier if it was shorter), and the Flight sock puppet thing (which I thought was extremely inappropriate, but also hilarious - especially the socks in the dryer and the balloon eyes after the line of coke - unlike a lot of the other inappropriate jokes he made, especially the Quevenzhane and Clooney one). Literally the only other good thing he did for the rest of the evening was the Christopher Plummer introduction, although the Meryl intro was also good (but that one felt like it had been done before, and better).
He wasn't helped by the fact that all of the major awards were entirely predictable except for Supporting Actor, which was the very first one (couldn't they have switched that and Supporting Actress, just this once?). I agree that he would absolutely be a better host for the Emmys.
In the end what disappointed me most was that this year's ceremony just didn't feel like it was any FUN. And with MacFarlane as the host, it probably should have been at least that - Ted was fun, if not great, and Family Guy is fun in small doses, which was all he was needed for. He was a disappointing host, if not a bad one.
I want my Steve Martin back.
I still think that EMMA THOMPSON could knock it out of the park. She's an amazing writer and the Academy loves her and she's genuinely funny in speeches, etc.
I wasnt unconfortable or offended with the Wallis/Clooney joke because Clooney was the target. He was the one being mocked. Seth was, in fact, calling Clooney a creepy 50 year old pervert who wont/cant/doesnt have the emotional maturity to date anyone over the age of 25 (which means half his own age).
Ramification brought up the point I was going to make that there were very few reaction shots from the audience right from the get go which made me wonder how Seth's bits were landing with the Dolby theater audience. I kept looking at Helen Hunt in the audience who we could see as Seth stood on stage and she didn't appear to be enjoying herself.
That being said, I thought Seth was fine with his gig being essentially a slightly toned-down version of a Family Guy episode. While I thought his opening bit went on too long (they should've just combined the Charlize Theron/Channing Tatum and Radcliffe/Gordon-Levitt dance routines together or something), I thought the "We Saw Your Boobs" and "Flight" sock puppet routines were a change of pace for the Oscars and I genuinely guffawed at both of them. Granted, I'm not sure I want to see that type of humor every year, but if he wants to come back and host in 2016, I'd be game for it.
Personally, I found the bits between the presenters more painful than anything Seth brought to the table (although the Sound of Music thing fell horribly flat for me). The banter between the Avengers guys and Paul Rudd/Melissa McCarthy started the show off on a horrible note and the Ted/Mark Wahlberg dialog didn't win me over either.
And the less said about the Jaws play-off, the better. (Although I know you haven't gotten to this yet, Nathaniel...I'm interested to hear other opinions.) At first, I thought it was kind of clever, but then as it built and built, it became obnoxious and insulting to the winner.
My expectations were super low for MacFarlane and I was pleasantly surprised by him. "Not Bad" is the best way to phase my review of his performance: there was good stuff in there (I for one laughed heartily at that Nutty Professor bit and the Von Trapp bit) and some not so good stuff (the sock-puppet gag was just dead sir and the outro loser's song fell real short).
Also for all the fuss that's being made the "inappropriate and offensive" jokes; I found most of those were about as edgy and crossing-the-line as your average Leno monologue.
I think the reason why anyone would want the hosting job is because being asked to host the Oscars caters to your ego. And I figure Seth MacFarlane as having a huge, out-of-this-world ego (and for good reason, he's obviously very successful). This can unfortunately have a negative reaction as it leads to, as you mentioned, him making the ceremony mostly about himself.
I think he did a pretty good job actually considering everyone was expecting a trainwreck. Some of my favourite moments were the Meryl Streep introduction and The Sound of Music bit: hi-larious.
I liked him just fine. But then I liked Anne Hathaway hosting just fine (Franco was obviously a blah foil, but still) until the next day, when people wanted to tear her apart. I appreciated his knowledge that he wasn't going to win with this gig, and that he incorporated his typical humor (yes, I enjoy Family Guy, especially Rex Harrison's evil gay alter-ego Stewie) in the show in a fairly decent way. I groaned at some of the jokes, but I'm more forgiving of hosts in general unless they get personally nasty or completely boring. Better to bomb a couple jokes than another bland Billy Crystal year.
I assume no one will top Hugh Jackman as my favorite - working in a musical number of the films allows anything that isn't funny to disappear as just a part of the song. Straight comedy will never win hearts and minds at the Oscars. It's the worst gig you can score. Tina/Amy were smart to go Globes - lower expectations and the room is friendlier (read: drunk).
My favorite was that "needs no introduction" intro and the fact Seth is weird attractive.
I was actually surprised - though I probably shouldn't have been - to find people reacting so badly to his hosting gig. I mean I didn't think he was that bad, in fact, I was actually somewhat pleasantly surprised. Then again, maybe I was pleasantly surprised because I was prepared for and expecting worse.
As far as looking for good hosts go, I think they need to stop looking for hosts who are expected to be the stars of the show. They should be *hosts*, ushering the show in and out of each segment, not trying to make the show their own. I feel like the producers of the Oscars keep looking for hosts who will be edgy and surprising, and that's exactly why they all fall flat - they're surprising because no one ever thought of them as the host-type, and there's a reason for that. I know that they probably want to choose people who cause attention-grabbing headlines, but I wish they'd stop. They should just get NPH already or maybe even someone like Tom Bergeron (though maybe he's a little too TV/not famous or glamorous enough? But he is a good host.)
I think the entire show was ill conceived. The musical theme seemed right up MacFarlane's alley, but many of the performances, homages, and general choices made were just odd. No real acknowledgement of anything outside of less than 20 years ago? Did we really need a recreation of "All that Jazz"? Is Dreamgirls worthy of being honored at another show 7 years after it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture? The famous Adele (who's lovely) and Norah Jones get to perform, but the other song nominees don't? Just so many odd choices that were so glaring, in a show that was needlessly bloated.
The Oscars are always at their best when it simply puts the stars on display. Jack is a star. Meryl Streep is a star. Daniel Day-Lewis is a star. Sandra Bullock is a star. Charlize Theron is a star. Goofy Nicole Kidman is a star. Argue the merits of their craft all you want, but these folks weld something special and know how to use it. The best shows feature hosts that know how to play with/off the star power well (Martin does it the best IMO), and for everything he gave it, MacFarlane missed the mark. Also, the show is always better when it, I don't know, recognizes that movies have existed outside the last 15 years, and not only because Christopher Plummer is presenting an award.
I don't want him to repeat ever again.
MacFarlane was not the problem last night (although he weakened at the show dragged on). The problemt was the producers, who imported TV and or Broadway personalities for the show (Shatner, Chenoweth) and who engaged in shameless self-promotion and self-congratulation. The protracted tributes to movie musicals did not belong on an awards show; the numbers would have fit just as well in any Tony awards show . The actual awards seemed almost an after thought. As much as I enjoyed Shirley Bassey, the tribute to 50 Years of James Bond should not have been a musical event. Where were the past Bonds? Streisand's appearance turned out the be an extended In Memoriam to Marvin Hamlisch; in film history, he is at best a footnote.
The next AMPAS president should recruit a producer(s) from the film world, not television or Broadway. I'll bet that Ang Lee could put on a whale of a show. Or Martin Scorsese.
Everyone at the Oscar party I was at laughed out loud at the "Flight" socks tumbling in the dryer.
I thought all the writing for the show was horrible. Horrible. I didn't find much of the jokes funny. The opener sucked save for the two old school musical numbers (Charlize and Channing! AMAZING! Daniel and JGL adorbs!)
Not to mention the sound mixing--why was the orchestra NOT in the building? Why was Adele drowned out by the orchestra?
The show worked best when we got some song and dance going on--Shirley Bassey, Streisand, the movie musical tribute (hello, people musicals are a movie genre and I'd rather this than any lame ass Debbie Allen/Cirque du Soleil, Riverdance crap we've gotten in years past).
Also, still annoyed that Emmanuelle Riva did not win last night. JLaw is too young and untried to be awarded, IMO.
I quite enjoyed the show! I thought he did a pretty good job (excepting a few of the jokes). Definitely too much Shatner though! :p
Good point about the Bonds Pete! I too was thinking if they were doing a homage to 50 years of Bond the best thing would have been to get ALL the 007s onstage together!
The Tonys' producers always seem to get it right; not so with the Oscars'. Perhaps it is the room--people attending the Tonys want to be there. Folks at the Oscars are nominated, presenting, or their agents make them go.Or they're the money people behind the scenes.
The host's repartee isn't what makes me squirm and want to change the channel. It's the awful, forced, faked banter between presenters. And some of these "actors" are so nervous and squirrely at the podium reading the teleprompter,, it's almost a wonder they're in the Business. At least trips over ridiculously long dresses and ass-scratching is real. And winners should be allowed to take a few extra minutes to thank whomever they want; real awards in the real world do.
Jennifer Lawrence should host next year. I have every confidence she would knock "I Saw Your Balls" out of the park.
MacFarlane wasn't the worst, but he wasn't good, either. He was too self-satisfied and too self-absorbed. I also could've done without the fat jokes made at the expense of Melissa McCarthy and Adele.
I'm really surprised that McFarlane has been getting such bad reviews on-line today. He got a lot of big laughs at the Oscar party I attended. I thought he did a great job and would be perfectly happy to see him come back next year.
I laughed many times at the opening, including the socks in the dryer. But there were sexist jokes, rape jokes, underage rape jokes, Jew jokes, and homophobic jokes. And really the point is, there's lots of ways to be funny without those, and if a comic thinks there aren't, well then, how funny is he?
After the opening, most of his jokes fell flat. I liked the Sound of Music joke.
sock puppets were funny as hell
One of the perks of having the opening monologue be so long. One of my best friends called me during the monologue to wish me a happy birthday and it was long enough that I didn`t miss any actual awarding. What I did see was pretty tasteless, but this is the creator of Family Guy. What did you expect?
On the whole, I was pro-MacFarlane last night. I didn't have super high expectations, but I closed out the night thinking he did pretty well. I got a good chuckle out of the boobs number, especially the reaction shots, and even though I've never seen The Sound of Music, I laughed at the Plummer intro. There were a few lows, like the Rihanna joke and the Quavenzhane joke, but they were relatively small, isolated cringes.
Don't get me wrong, I would drop him in a heartbeat if Tina and Amy were interested, but I thought he did a pretty good job. I agree with Ramification that it seemed more an issue with the production in general than with Seth as host. The whole thing seemed a little sloppy and unfinished. In particular the two big feature numbers, the Bond and the musicals tributes, seemed rushed and kind of thin.
And, re Jeff's question, I loved the Jaws music. I thought it was really fun. On a side note, does anyone know the procedure for the music? Is it a strict time limit for everyone, or does it go by audience interest (bigger stars and interesting speeches get more time)? I get that this is your big chance and you may never be there again, but I, as a viewer, would much rather listen to someone tell a story or talk about their reaction to the win for ten minutes than someone reciting the names of their publicist's assistants for two.
To those asking about the Bond tribute, apparently the original plan was to have all the Bonds appear together on stage, but a couple of them (Connery, no doubt, and who else??) backed out so they scrapped the idea entirely.
McFarlane was good. Genial, song happy and self deprecating. In the past he's seemed like a big old smug-o, but he made a good impression last night. Some of his jokes were horrible, but nobody bats 1.000.
I only watch a few videos the day after, but with McFarlane I had to stop at the I saw your boobs song. It was embarrassing and infuriating. It was a reduction to mere flesh of actresses that have far more talent in any of their nipples than the host.
I think it's clear why they accept the job of Oscar hosts: ego. Everyone feels tempted to inscribe their names in Oscar history the fastest (not easy) way possible, by hosting. What I don't know is why and how AMPAS throws names each year hoping some will stick. I mean, I'd love to see footage of the meeting where the name MacFarlane came up for the first time.
MacFarlane wasn't great, but he surely wasn't helped by the producers who probably made way more wrong decisions about the ceremony. Even Poehler/Fey probably would've tripped up by what they were saddled with.
Note though, I still think MacFarlane was bad. Don't think I'm defending him at all. I just don't think he was the worst/terrible as many people are reacting online/media.
He was terrible. His jokes weren't humorous or clever, but rather created to provoke a reaction. It was like being forced to listen to the obnoxious loud kid in the back of the classroom who thinks that he is way more funny than he really is.
I loved the song dance stuff with the actors...I just want to see Channing, Charlize, Joseph and Daniel in some sort of Singing in the Rain musical now. They were really good!
Yeah the "We Saw Your Boobs" joke was probably the low point for me. Way to reduce the few women Hollywood deigns to admire into just their breasts. Super offensive, super classless. On the other hand, I laughed pretty hard at the sock puppets joke, if only because I don't know why more people aren't making fun of Flight.
Also now that the world has seen Charlize dance, there are ZERO excuses for her not being the star of a musical. Maybe Sally Potter can do it? I remember some spectacular direction in the dance scenes of The Tango Lesson.
Really? Bad host? I thought he was great. Miles ahead of Franco/Hathaway/Billy Crystal. I thought he was up there with Hugh Jackman as far as hosting goes. I was laughing all night long.
You knew Seth would get bad reviews no matter how good he was, and was very good in my opinion. I don't know where you're getting the word "bombed", because I was laughing at nearly everything, and unless it was a laugh track, it sounded like the audience was enjoying him too.
I thought Seth was GREAT. I actually found the sock puppets hilarious and I loved all the musical aspects. I really don't get the hate. Dude did a fine job.
How about blaming the writers? Seth had pathetic material to work with, and the directors were so self absorbed with what they wanted to showcase. No one on earth can convince me that numbers from "Chicago," and "Dreamgirls," were anywhere near relevant. What a fiasco.
Sad day when film directors lose creative control of their work, yet directors of the Oscar ceremony are allowed to leave the audience cringing and begging for mercy. Can we finally put Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones off limits from Oscar telecasts permanently?
I thought the show was tasteless and just awful. The cheap jokes took credibility away from the awards and lessened their impact. These are prestigious awards, why cheapen them with awful roasting jokes? The Rex Reed-Adele comment was the absolute low point for me...and it was told 5 minutes before she had to get on stage and accept her award. You could tell she was upset and embarrassed by what was said about her weight earlier
It seems like such a losing proposition for people interested in promoting sexual/racial equality to go after jokes. It's simply that jokes can be interpreted in so many ways by so many different people. Seth MacFarlane makes a joke about actresses showing their boobs in movies. Person A sees male gaze!! Person B sees deconstruction of the male gaze!! You're never going to get Person A to see what Person B sees and vice-versa.
I'm far more concerned with the stuff that goes on in total earnest and with total unselfconsciousness. More than MacFarlane's joke about Quvenzhané Wallis dating George Clooney, I'm leery about otherwise intelligent, progressive men like Clooney who seem to feel that the only women worth dating are interchangeable, dispensable models. All those people who are hand-wringing about MacFarlane now? A lot of them were waving away accusations that Lena Dunham didn't think to include people of color as significant parts of her cast - it literally never occurred to her. At least jokes bother to bring up uncomfortable things most of us would rather not think about.
I didn't like the joking about Anne Hathaway having it in the bag during the Sally Field bit. Yes, it was a safe assumption. But it is so disrespectful to the other nominees. Can't we at least pretend that things are up in the air until the envelope is opened? Otherwise, why not just skip nominations and just hand the award to the person everyone assumes is the winner.
I felt like Seth got better as the night went on- his quips were more concise and didn't drag on as much. I think the fact that his jokes were falling flat for the live audience made things more painful, especially in the beginning of the show.
Agreed that Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep would likely be the best hosts, but I'm sure they wouldn't want to risk tarnishing their reputations.
Loved him as a host. Didn't find the jokes offensive in the least. Opening monologue was actually a goof on how people thought he would host the Oscars based on Family Guy. The rest was nothing like that.
And I cackled at Sockpuppet Flight. So much better than the original film.
I thought he was fine. I didn't hate it, like I thought I would, but I didn't really like it either. I think a lot of the problems the show fall on the shoulders of the producers. For example, MacFarlane's monologue was waaaaaaay to long and self-indulgent, and that is something that a producer should have come in and cut down. The pacing of the show and some of the terrible awards banter, also producer flaws. Do I want him back next year? Not really. Do I want to go to his house with a pitchfork? No.