Holy Cross Covers the 85th Academy Awards
Published: Friday, March 1, 2013
Updated: Friday, March 1, 2013 14:03
I was talking with my family this weekend about our vacation a few years back to Los Angeles. We were recounting how our visit to Beverly Hills and Hollywood was one of the most surprising and eye-opening vacations we have ever taken: there, we really became aware of the fact that acting and the entertainment business, in general, is indeed a business. We gained a greater respect for it because of this trip. In this business, the Academy Awards is arguably the most important night of the year. Pretty much every movie star, regardless of filming schedules, fly back home to Los Angeles to attend either the event, or the after parties.
So how did this year’s event stack up compared to past years? Personally, I thought it was a fun night of television. Seth MacFarlane, a man of many talents from recent Ted and “Family Guy” fame, hosted the Oscars this year. It is clear that this man is talented, from animation degrees, to an obvious singing background, to his writing skills.
But, so what? Were his jokes funny? I thought so, until we brought William Shatner into the mix; from there, MacFarlane’s opening monologue became confusing and weird. Yes, some part were kind of funny, but his several sexist jokes were uncalled for and out-of-bounds (including a strange “We Saw Your Boobs” song, something I’m actually uncomfortable to type, it was that awkward). However, could we have expected anything more from this comedian whose rap sheet reads almost solely as a list of raunchy comedies? No, we shouldn’t have expected anything less or remotely toned down.
In the beginning of the show, MacFarlane mentioned that the 85th Academy Awards would have a theme: a celebration of music in movies. The theme definitely carried throughout, with classic scores heard from intros and outros, as well as surprising performances by Catherine Zeta Jones, revising her role briefly as Velma Kelly in Chicago, Jennifer Hudson, singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls, a performance by the cast of nominated film Les Misérables, and even “The Way We Were” sung by Barbra Streisand. Additionally, a much-hyped performance was a dedication to fifty years of the James Bond saga; Dame Shirley Bassey came on stage to perform the celebrated Bond song, “Goldfinger” to a standing ovation. The music-in-movies theme was ever present throughout the three and a half hour show.
The big winner of the night was Argo, for Best Picture (something I thought was extremely well deserved); First Lady Michelle Obama presented this award at the end of the show, via webcam. A politically charged movie perhaps deserved a politically charged reception, although I found this inclusion of our first lady rather odd.
Many records were set for the 85th Academy Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis, the winner for the Best Actor category for his portrayal as the president in Lincoln, became the first actor in history to receive three Best Actor awards (Day-Lewis won in 2008 for his role in There Will Be Blood, and in 1990 for My Left Foot). Additionally, Emmanuelle Riva, nominated for her role in the foreign film Amour, became the oldest nominee in the Best Actress category, at age 85. Another age record went to Beast of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis, who now holds the record of the youngest nominee for Best Actress, at age 9. While these women didn’t go home with a gold Oscar statuette on Sunday, they will surely be remembered for being record holders (and, of course, amazing actresses for the respected films).
The Academy Awards is my favorite night in television. I love to watch the Red Carpet coverage (the sounds of groans from every girl across campus for Holy Cross cancelling E! News Network can still be heard, if you listen close enough…), judge the dresses, laugh along with the stars as they celebrate of how fabulous they were this year. I realize its politics, its dark side, but I relish it. Especially this year, with a raunchy host and a slew of amazing films nominated, I thought the Academy did a wonderful job. Here’s to next year!
is a member of the 
