Morning-after debrief

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Honest to Jesus, y'all, that was the most boring Oscars ever. T and I called it a night early! So much singing, so much time between awards. Those two guys whose vision this show was not only looked alike but also brought us a major snoozefest. Here are my faves/not-faves of the night!

Anne Hathaway: terrible dress re: front-view as the darts in the corset were like blinking arrows pointing to her nipples; lovely dress re: back-view; thought speech seemed a bit too practiced; nonetheless she is such a solid gal!

THRILL re: Argo winning Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay because it was a terrific film and I was sad for BAffleck being snubbed for director. That said, Lincoln was a masterpiece, so I'm THRILLED DD-L won Best Actor. He is also a masterpiece.

Christoph Waltz: what a delight.

Ben Affleck should keep the beard!

Jennifer Lawrence: she is infinitely likeable, would probably be a blast to hang out with, and I loved her dress, but I thought her Best Actress win was a travesty.

Olivia Munn looked smokin', Kerry Washington has incredible cheekbones and comes across as such a smart, cool woman.

WHAT was up with the posse of spectral men with long, unkempt hair who kept winning sound-based awards? If they are that pale because they spend all day in dark rooms mixing sounds, they should get outside. And for the love of god, cut the hair. I, myself, like long hair on men when it's well-cut and well-kept. Neither was the case for any of those Julian-Assange-in-a-long-wig lookers last night.

Ang Lee is the sweetest looking man ever. His wife looks exactly like him.

Kristin Chenoweth is possibly the most annoying, grating, irritating mini-Barbie I've ever been forced to experience. Kelly Rowland seemed to be high or in some sort of la-la land.

Renee Zellweger looks to be on a slow burn to ShrinkyDink: every time I see her, she's smaller and tighter. She simply must stop Botox-ing her forehead so severely. It's dripping into the rest of her face. Also, Dustin Hoffman's wife seemed unable to move any part of her visage except the bridge of her nose.

I liked Nicole Kidman's dress, and even though one of my Facebook friends made the excellent point that Halle Berry's dress was a tad too Dynasty, I still thought she looked wonderful.

Stacy Keibler?

 

Oscar night

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Probably because my spirited mom has hosted an Oscar party annually for the past 30+ years, but also because I love fashion and there's just something about the glamour of it all, I really enjoy the Academy Awards. I don't always think the award committee acknowledges or rewards quality over hype (why is Ben Affleck not up for Best Director this year? Why did Titanic win Best Picture? Why is Jennifer Lawrence a front runner for Silver Linings Playbook? Why is Silver Linings Playbook up for anything?), but it's a grand affair steeped in history and tradition, and I look forward to this evening each time it rolls around. As with New Year's Eve, it's rare that I make it to the end of the Oscars; I'm just too tired and know very well what my wake-up time will likely be. But the getting-ready part is such fun. I love to mix fancy drinks or uncork a special bottle of wine and sit with T on our couch as the red carpet opens for business. All those of Seacrest ilk in their finest, smiles plastered on their faces which you just know ache by night's end, greeting the gorgeously attired (most of the time) stars as they arrive. The women are corseted into such incredible, sweeping, ethereal gowns, the men more handsome than ever in crisp tuxes. The juxtaposition of us in elastic-waist pants in a messy home, tired and just happy to be quietly together clasping chilled coupes with these decked-out, made-up, super-coiffed, diamond-encrusted pillars of Hollywood is great. And I love the eccentrics who come out to play too- Bjork and Mickey Rourke come to mind. Anyone can be eccentric of course, but wealth and fame seem to embolden those celebs that tend towards the odd, and they seem to take great pride in the strange plumage and affects they bring with them to ceremonies like the Oscars.

I was all about steaks and chimichurri tonight but instead decided to focus my efforts on the liquid part of our meal because it's sort of been a day. We'll be grilling a perfect, smokey pizza while enjoying a flight of cocktails, new recipes I've discovered lately. I've already scanned in my and Tom's ballots and emailed them to Mom. She and her crew -the suggested attire at her fete is always black tie or blue jeans, and she wears one of Dad's tux shirts with cut-off shorts or jeans (depending on the weather) plus faux jewels, or not- will be voting too and the winner always gets something fun. They'll be drinking and eating and enjoying this newest addition to the collection of Oscar nights spent together I know they hold dear in memory. Cheers!