When Oscar Met Tony... Or how the Academy Awards became a Musical

Aah the Oscars! I admit I adore the Academy Awards and I (almost) never miss it on TV. The show just ended a couple of hours ago and here are my Favorite 2009 Oscar Moments…

First, the Host… Hugh Jackman… I love him as Wolverine… and first fell in love with him in “Someone Like You”… but boy oh boy was I amazed with him when I saw him in New York on Broadway for the “The Boy from Oz”. At that time, I was completely in awe. Wolverine can sing and dance! So when I first heard that Hugh was hosting the 2009 Academy Awards, I immediately thought, he’s definitely gonna make a musical opening… and I was so right. There was definitely a lot of pressure for him this year following a record-breaking lowest rating Oscars last year. I love Jon Stewart but I guess his wit is better off behind a desk than on-stage. And of course, everyone’s favorite (mine included) is Billy Crystal. He’s probably by far the best Oscars Host ever, even better than Bob Hope. So anyway, Hugh held himself well. He didn’t “try” to be overtly funny. He had class. He was relaxed. He was definitely not new to larger than life stages like this. The fact that he hosted the 2009 Tony Awards definitely gave him a leg up. And by the way, Hugh really knew how to raise his leg up in “The Boy from Oz”.

The Opening was simple but adorable. All the featured films up for Best Picture were highlighted through Hugh’s opening musical performance. And the biggest surprise of that bit was Anne Hathaway. Hugh drew her off from the front row, and acting as if she didn’t know anything about it, she pulled off the rug from everyone’s feet and delighted the whole Kodak Theater with her set of singing pipes. Not bad at all. And she was even complimented by Shirley Maclaine during the presentation of the Best Actress nominees.

The Presentation of the Acting Nominees was also lovely. This year, instead of merely showing clips of the nominees in their characters, five previous Oscar winners came out and gave each nominee a heartwarming testimonial for their art. For me that really made it more special (and it was a clever way of appeasing the non-winners beforehand, hehehe) Also, presenters for awards were always usually two, three max if the award was really big. This was the first time (that I remember, correct me if I’m wrong) that they got FIVE Oscar Winners to present the nominees for the Acting categories. It made the show more star-studded. I also like the fact that matching the presenter with the nominee was not done in random. There were personal connections such Sir Anthony Hopkins hailing Brad Pitt who he has worked with a couple of times already. And there were role connections. I had a laugh when it was Whoopi Goldberg’s turn to honor Amy Adams for her role in “Doubt”. Whoopi said, “It’s not easy being a nun. Take it from someone who’s been there and back.”

I always watch the Oscars for its comedy. Some polls said that Steve Martin though funny didn’t do a very good job in hosting the event some years ago. Well those are just critiques. I still love Steve Martin and whenever he’s out at any awards night to present something, expect FUNNY. This time in the 81st Oscars, he teamed up with fellow Best Screenplay winner Tina Fey to present what else but the Best Screenplay category. They came out with their own VO recording narrating their actions on stage while the screen displayed the script of their scene being typed away correspondingly. It was cute. And of course the cuter part was Tina and Steve’s comedy bit.

More Comedy for the evening came in courtesy of Seth Rogen and James Franco. It was a video segment where they were in their Pineapple Express characters. Seth entered into the apartment with a bunch of DVDs and he and buddy James started watching the films that were said to be Oscar nominees. The joke: They found the dramatic scenes funny and they shed some tears on Tropic Thunder. It was like a Beavis & Butthead segment. I definitely miss the ‘90s.

But the funniest bit for me that night was Ben Stiller’s pun on Joaquin Phoenix. Together with the exquisitely looking Natalie Portman, he came out with a fake Abe Lincoln beard, dark eyeglasses and a chewing gum in his mouth to present the Best in Cinematography Award. Anybody who ever saw Joaquin Phoenix’s recent infamous guest stint in the David Letterman Show would get the joke. Otherwise, one would wonder, what the hell is Ben doing in that beard? And what is the joke all about? If you don’t know yet, just a few days ago, Joaquin sat on David’s couch to supposedly talk about his new film with Gwyneth Paltrow called “Two Lovers”. Instead, he freaked out everyone including Dave by showing up completely weird. Check out the clip HERE. It was so bizarre that Dave even quipped “Joaquin, I’m so sorry you can’t be here tonight” followed by “My apologies to Farrah Fawcett” who for many years have held the record for having the most spaced-out interview on the David Letterman Show.

The show had enough comedy but it was definitely more entertaining than last year’s because of the Musical Performances. Hugh made the show his own by turning the program into a musical bonanza. Another favorite production number was the Baz Luhrmann-directed Musical Tribute to all movie musicals from past to present. Hugh donned on the top hat and the tails together with a very leggy-luscious Beyoncé. And to the delight of tweens everywhere in the world, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens backed them up together with Amanda Seyfried of “Mamma Mia”.

It was definitely a fresh take on the 81-year-old Academy Awards. Despite some missed cues on Jackman's part (there was a moment when the camera was already rolling on him and he wasn't ready) the show was good. Not bad for someone whose film bombed in the US box office. Don't worry Hugh, maybe Australia will be a big hit in well.. Australia :-)