Coffee Diva
02-28-2005, 10:35 PM
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/02/28/sections/life/life/article_424183.php
Monday, February 28, 2005
Rock wasn't on a roll
The usually edgy performer turns in an uninspired performance as Oscar host.
By JONATHAN STORM
Knight Ridder Newspapers
What was all that controversy about?
Supposed bad boy Chris Rock delivered a naughty word in his first sentence Sunday night at the Oscars, then followed with a surprisingly flat and uninspired performance.
The wail of outrage that fits so well with his highly charged comedy routines was just too much noise when aimed at insignificant show-biz targets like Jude Law and Cuba Gooding.
Cracks about President George W. Bush's fiscal policy were mildly amusing, if predictable, but it was just poor taste to compare real fighting and dying in Iraq to a battle between clerks at the Gap and Banana Republic.
Sending "some love out to all our troops fighting all over the world" neither rescued the bit nor resurrected lost laughs.
It was certainly not the move Oprah Winfrey had in mind when she said on the red carpet before the show: "We're here to see Chris Rock walk the edge and come back."
In one of his better moments, Rock quipped, "Oprah is so rich, I saw John Kerry proposing to her."
The staging for the 77th annual Academy Awards was colorful and visually stimulating, and the graphics on multiple screens in the floor and ceiling gave the show a fresh feeling.
But, alas, Hollywood's Kodak Theatre was still filled with lugubrious thank-yous from unknown technicians. At least the edited speeches from earlier festivities had some snap.
Rock wasn't the only one hitting sour notes. Beyoncé and Josh Groban busted eardrums nationwide as they sang "Believe" from "The Polar Express."
Is it possible to make the Oscar show anything more than a death march of scruffy actors and women dressed like mermaids? Producer Gil Cates struggled mightily, lining nominees up on stage and dispatching presenters into the audience.
"Next year, they're going to give out Oscars in the parking lot," Rock said.
But empty seats were evident, and a crash off-camera made it sound as if someone were being shot backstage.
"I hoped they missed," said Jeremy Irons, getting one of the night's big responses. Maybe he could host next year.
Five minutes in, how many millions of viewers were already casting about for a replacement for Rock?
As the evening passed, the choices narrowed.
Mike Myers? Whap! A flatulence joke.
Robin Williams? Blam! Gay jokes about Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny.
Adam Sandler? He and Rock were so bad, even the wide-eyed Hilary Swank couldn't resist a backhanded wisecrack to her husband in the audience.
Hosting the Oscars, clearly, is an almost impossible job. Even Johnny Carson seemed a little off in one of those sentimental retrospectives.
The entertainment highlight may have come from a pre-taped Rock remote at a local L.A. movie theater where plain folks revealed that they'd seen none of the nominees.
Maybe that guy in the silver fur-lined parka and camouflage hat could host in 2006.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Rock wasn't on a roll
The usually edgy performer turns in an uninspired performance as Oscar host.
By JONATHAN STORM
Knight Ridder Newspapers
What was all that controversy about?
Supposed bad boy Chris Rock delivered a naughty word in his first sentence Sunday night at the Oscars, then followed with a surprisingly flat and uninspired performance.
The wail of outrage that fits so well with his highly charged comedy routines was just too much noise when aimed at insignificant show-biz targets like Jude Law and Cuba Gooding.
Cracks about President George W. Bush's fiscal policy were mildly amusing, if predictable, but it was just poor taste to compare real fighting and dying in Iraq to a battle between clerks at the Gap and Banana Republic.
Sending "some love out to all our troops fighting all over the world" neither rescued the bit nor resurrected lost laughs.
It was certainly not the move Oprah Winfrey had in mind when she said on the red carpet before the show: "We're here to see Chris Rock walk the edge and come back."
In one of his better moments, Rock quipped, "Oprah is so rich, I saw John Kerry proposing to her."
The staging for the 77th annual Academy Awards was colorful and visually stimulating, and the graphics on multiple screens in the floor and ceiling gave the show a fresh feeling.
But, alas, Hollywood's Kodak Theatre was still filled with lugubrious thank-yous from unknown technicians. At least the edited speeches from earlier festivities had some snap.
Rock wasn't the only one hitting sour notes. Beyoncé and Josh Groban busted eardrums nationwide as they sang "Believe" from "The Polar Express."
Is it possible to make the Oscar show anything more than a death march of scruffy actors and women dressed like mermaids? Producer Gil Cates struggled mightily, lining nominees up on stage and dispatching presenters into the audience.
"Next year, they're going to give out Oscars in the parking lot," Rock said.
But empty seats were evident, and a crash off-camera made it sound as if someone were being shot backstage.
"I hoped they missed," said Jeremy Irons, getting one of the night's big responses. Maybe he could host next year.
Five minutes in, how many millions of viewers were already casting about for a replacement for Rock?
As the evening passed, the choices narrowed.
Mike Myers? Whap! A flatulence joke.
Robin Williams? Blam! Gay jokes about Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny.
Adam Sandler? He and Rock were so bad, even the wide-eyed Hilary Swank couldn't resist a backhanded wisecrack to her husband in the audience.
Hosting the Oscars, clearly, is an almost impossible job. Even Johnny Carson seemed a little off in one of those sentimental retrospectives.
The entertainment highlight may have come from a pre-taped Rock remote at a local L.A. movie theater where plain folks revealed that they'd seen none of the nominees.
Maybe that guy in the silver fur-lined parka and camouflage hat could host in 2006.