The 83rd Annual Academy Awards

[Jeremy Blackman]

Billy Crystal's wackity-shmackity song-and-dance routine (as Stephen Thompson preemptively called it) was the most cringe-worthy thing I've seen since Coldplay performed on SNL with Chris Martin writhing awkwardly in glow-in-the-dark clothing. Actually it was worse. He looked like he was forcing himself to do it... like he expected it of himself, but his soul was shriveling up inside his body as a consequence.

What really got me — perhaps because it happened throughout the entire ceremony — was the thing he does after every joke. He pauses for laughter, staring into the camera with that goofy fake serious look, as if carving out that space will itself create laughter... then he abruptly toggles to an entirely unearned self-congratulatory dopey smirk. It's the most annoying thing this side of Macy Gray.

I was jaded after my first academy awards viewing, too.

It's just been so long, I barely remembered all the Billy Crystal antics.

But there was also a layer of sadness this time which made it all very unsettling, compounded by the crowd's complete lack of interest in him. Also, he has Val Kilmer's puffy face disease.

[diggler]

After the clunky opening number and video (what the hell was up with the microphones? you could barely hear him) I actually thought he did okay. From his crack after Tom Sherak's speech through to the end he seemed to loosen up. What did you honestly expect? Eddie Murphy would've been a trainwreck.

[Reel]

(what the hell was up with the microphones? you could barely hear him)

The Sound was fucked up.

glad I'm not the only one who noticed, that was trippin' me out.

[polkablues]

From the clips I've watched, the microphones were making everyone sound like they were doing Rob Brydon's Small Man in a Box voice.

[RegularKarate]

The more watered down and unoffensive the Oscars get, the less interested I get.
Nothing happened that made me really upset and nothing really crazy happened.
The video that I'm guessing Christopher Guest directed with the Wizard of Oz audience testing was the funniest thing that has ever intentionally happened at the Oscars (though I like Zach and Will's cymbals thing).

[Reel]

[diggler]

here we go...

http://angelinajolieing.tumblr.com/

[MacGuffin]

Billy Crystal's Sammy Davis Jr. Impersonation Draws "Blackface" Criticisms
Source: THR

During Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, Billy Crystal revisited one of his oldest bits as he put himself into the Best Picture nominees via some clever cutting, CGI, and occasionally, the assistance of the nominees' stars. But the Oscars host drew criticism after revisiting an even older bit in which he impersonates Sammy Davis Jr., prompting claims that his "blackface" performance was offensive and racist.

Following a segment in which Crystal spent a few seconds talking to Justin Bieber and Sammy Davis Jr. (actually Crystal in makeup) in a scene meant to reference Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, complaints began pouring in from Twitter that Crystal, the segment and the show as a whole was racist for allowing Crystal to impersonate the iconic black performer.

Monday morning online pundits offered critiques of his performance as Davis, suggesting that it was pointless at best, categorically offensive at worst. While the performance was obviously a throwback to Crystal's frequent segments as the singer on Saturday Night Live, many found the decision questionable at best since it had little or nothing to do with either the immediate context of that part of his intro or the Oscars in general.

Crystal and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have not yet issued a statement or response to the controversy. But the polarizing reaction on Twitter and the blogosphere has already inspired discussions about where the line is, or should be drawn for white performers to imitate characters of different ethnicities. Is there a difference between comical impersonation and cartoonish derision, if it's a white performer playing a character of color? In today's climate is there a difference between "blackface" and a white person wearing makeup to look black for the purpose of comedy?

[diggler]

Billy Crystal's Sammy Davis Jr. Impersonation Draws "Blackface" Criticisms
...In today's climate is there a difference between "blackface" and a white person wearing makeup to look black for the purpose of comedy?

Yes

[Jeremy Blackman]

Man, I didn't realize that was him. How did that get greenlighted?

[Sleepless]

The video that I'm guessing Christopher Guest directed with the Wizard of Oz audience testing was the funniest thing that has ever intentionally happened at the Oscars (though I like Zach and Will's cymbals thing).

The Wizard of Oz thing was so-so, but the Will Ferrell skit was tired and predictable. He needs to give it a rest. I actually thought the best bit of the show was Emma Stone's introduction with Ben Stiller. They need to bottle her energy and maybe think about giving her a solo hosting gig next year to bring some much-needed freshness and youth to the whole thing.

Billy Crystal is getting a lot of stick for the show, but I really didn't think he was that bad. At the end of the day, it's an awards show. What do you expect? Not every ceremony is going to be Ricky Gervias at the Golden Globes two years ago.

[RegularKarate]

The Wizard of Oz thing was so-so, but the Will Ferrell skit was tired and predictable. He needs to give it a rest. I actually thought the best bit of the show was Emma Stone's introduction with Ben Stiller. They need to bottle her energy and maybe think about giving her a solo hosting gig next year to bring some much-needed freshness and youth to the whole thing.

Oh, so you predicted that they were going to awkwardly use those cymbals?  It was just pure physical comedy and Zach was playing it well.  I'm not saying it was hilarious, but it wasn't a shitty overwritten introduction like the Emma Stone intro (THAT was tired and predictable).

[Sleepless]

So you didn't see that the giant cymbals were going to be dropped on the floor? Okay...

[diggler]

I laughed at the Emma Stone thing more than the cymbals. She played that very well, and I was impressed with her commitment to the gag.  Zach dropped the cymbals one too many times. Chris Rock had the best jokes of the night though, he was a better host than he got credit for.

[RegularKarate]

So you didn't see that the giant cymbals were going to be dropped on the floor? Okay...

Yes, obviously, the cymbals were going to get dropped.  Comedy isn't always about surprise.  If it were, almost nothing would be funny anymore.