February 29, 2012
1 min read

And the Oscar goes to… A New Host

Comedian/actor Billy Crystal dressed in tuxedo standing beside a life size Oscar statue.

The excitement of the Academy Awards, seeing the culmination of a year’s worth of cinema with all its sparkle and glamour, lies largely in the hands of the host. The host talks about the movies we made the trip to the theater to see, and movies we have wanted to pop up on Netflix.  The host adds that extra little je ne sais quoi to the movie’s fantasy. But the host this time around—Billy Crystal disappointed.

When Crystal opened his self-congratulatory monologue with, “This is my ninth time hosting the Oscars so tonight just call me War Horse,” his fatigue was palpable.  He has been there too many times.  His poor attempts at comedy were awkward throughout. They say comedy is hard to pull off and with Crystal that truism was crystal clear.

Welcoming his audience to, “the beautiful Chapter 11 Theater” was insensitive and plain mean. The wounds of Kodak’s iconic rise and catastrophic fall are too fresh. Perhaps down the road we may be able to poke fun at them, but not now.

There’s a fine line between humor and mean-spiritedness that Ricky Gervais knows how to pull off, but Crystal, does not.  With Gervais, his trademark is slapstick and ‘in-your-face,’ so we expect his rawness. Crystal’s similar attempts seemed misplaced and awkward.

He didn’t leave the Kodak company alone as midway through the show he went on to say: “Tonight at the ‘your name here’ theater.” That stung too.

So at next year’s 85th Academy Awards, before we watch the stars ascend the stage to collect their golden statues, we should be greeted by none other than Chris Rock as our host. That will be a Kodak moment worth remembering.

READ MORE:  The Thrive Center helped me in my worst times. It can help you too.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

A plate of stacked Torta Chilanga sandwich and a Jalapeno.
Previous Story

The restaurant of the week

Kobe Bryant in red jersey number 24 carrying the basketball guarded by Dwight Howard in blue jersey.
Next Story

Rethinking All Star Games

Latest from Blog

Baseball – 20110308 – Fullerton

Author Recent Posts el Don News Latest posts by el Don News (see all) Read our Fall 2023 Print: Vol. 100 No. 1 - October 23, 2023 Santa Ana College Awarded State

Dracula adaptation explores female ambition

Santa Ana College’s Theatre Department presented the new play Dracula on Oct. 11-13 with dark illusions and chilling whispers designed to thrill.  Andrea Decker and Wyn Moreno, wife-and-husband co-writers, reframed Bram Stoker’s
Go toTop