I miss Billy Crystal…or Steve Martin…or anyone with an ounce of class, as Chris Rock seemed to forget to bring even one. He wasn’t funny. He clearly has no respect for most of the actors there or the awards themselves. He seemed more and more uneasy as the night wore on, probably because he realized he was out of his element. I’m probably in the minority in my reaction. I skipped a chance to see Chris Rock when he was in Raleigh or Greensboro a year or two ago. I know he’s a smart guy who can make sharp, funny observations. It just didn’t work at the Oscars.

Anyway, so I watched the Oscars, and they basically sucked. My main pet peeve in watching awards shows is the cutting off of speeches. To give someone an award that is the pinnacle of the career and then to cut them off just as they’ve recovered from the shock and began to thank some people is just shitty. It was obvious that it was predetermined that Jamie Foxx would get as much time as he wanted, but Hilary Swank, who had won already, had the music playing a minute into her speech.

And those minor awards where the nominees stood lined up on the stage…that was awkward to watch. It looked like a spelling bee. I know they did it to save time, so there wouldn’t be a wait for those artists to make the long trip up to the stage. But it seemed insulting.

As for the awards themselves, I’m so glad Million Dollar Baby won so many awards, mostly because it’s a slap in the face of those right-wing nuts who have tried to trash the film