The 2013 Oscars flashed back with an ode to music in film, honoring not only today’s top celebrities, but the stars of yesteryear.
The evening’s host, creator of “Family Guy” Seth MacFarlane, had the audience on the edge of their seats with numerous jabs and offending comments. The show kicked off with a total of four musical numbers within the first 15 minutes and interruptions from William Shatner as Spock from “Star Trek”, coming to warn MacFarlane not to ruin the show with his antics.
With a total run-time of three hours, the unnecessary performances, bits by Shatner and an uncomfortable kissing scene between MacFarlane and Sally Field made the audience uneasy and ready to just get on with the awards.
The fashion of the celebrities was either a hit or miss. Reese Witherspoon looked phenomenal in a royal blue Louis Vuitton gown and Jessica Chastain was stunning in a coppery-nude sequin strapless gown by Armani Prive. Witherspoon and Chastain had to be the evening’s best-dressed ladies. As for the men, Channing Tatum fashioned a Gucci suit, cuff-links by Martin Katz and a bowtie. His smoldering good looks made him the best-dressed man at the event. It looked as if the beard is back, as men fashioned full beards as their top-choice accessory.
This year is the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movies, so after a 10-minute clip showcasing the most famous scenes, singer Shirley Bassy took the stage to sing “Goldfinger”, and Adele performed her single for the recent film “Skyfall”. Both performances were uneventful and disappointing.
Along with the James Bond performances, the Academy honored the Broadway musicals of “Les Miserables”, “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago” with full song and dance. The “Les Mis” cast of Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks and Aaron Tveit with a full choir showcased their beautiful voices in a mash-up of songs from the film. Catherine Zeta-Jones was joined by a dozen backup dancers dressed up in full costumes of leather and fishnet as she performed “All that Jazz”, bringing in much debate on the authenticity of her performance. One of the latest rumors on the Oscars is whether or not her performance was lip-synced. Finally, Jennifer Hudson stole the stage in her powerful rendition of “I’m Telling You”. The set list of acts was a perfect addition to the endless show.
The cute and cuddly Ted and his co-star Mark Wahlberg made an appearance presenting the award for Best Sound Mixing to “Les Miserables” producers Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes. “Les Miserables” received two more awards for Female Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
The most anticipated categories were Best Picture, Best Actor or Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Actor or Actress in a Lead Role. In the running for Best Picture was “Amour”, “Life of Pi”, “Argo”, “Lincoln”, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Zero Dark Thirty”, “Django Unchained” and “Les Miserables”. The film “Argo” was named Best Picture. The winners of Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role were Christoph Waltz and Anne Hathaway. Jennifer Lawrence and Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role.
The other 24 winning categories were well-deserved. There were exciting highs and disappointing lows throughout the show, but this year’s Oscars will go down in the history books.
