McKinnon takes on MacFarlane taking on the Oscars
There’s a lot of people ragging on Seth MacFarlane today after hosting the 2013 Oscars, so I felt the need to write about my personal opinion. I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll keep this short, include bullet points, won’t be linking to sources and may have typos.
First off, I’m not a huge Family Guy fan because I find the violence against women jokes deplorable. That said, I think MacFarlane and the team behind last night’s Oscars did a magnificent job of not only hosting the show and staying classy, but also updating it for the next generation. The production included small touches that constantly uplifted the industry, while playing to the audience as film fans.
Some of my favorite touches:
- Trading in hot models handing out the awards for international film students was a brilliant way to honor the next generation of filmmakers;
- The comedic addition of the Jaws theme to “play them off” was a killer move, and I loved it;
- The not-so-subtle reminders of blockbuster film stars that didn’t get nominated was absolutely hilarious and honest. Blockbusters are a huge part of the economy and need to be recognized;
- The Von Trapp Family Singers bit tickled my entire being. I’m insulted by anyone criticizing that sketch today;
- A dance number with Seth MacFarlane, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe? I giggled like an adorable little Japanese schoolgirl.
In all honesty, there were only two parts of the show I wasn’t really impressed with; the Bond tribute, and the ode to Musicals. My reasoning:
- Bond music tribute: I was surprised how they wasted time with the intro montage, which was way too heavy on VFX and managed not to credit any of the composers. At first I thought they weren’t crediting anyone because it was mostly John Barry (RIP), but then they played “Live and Let Die” by Paul and Linda McCartney with no mention of their names either. I also thought that Shirley Bassey was amazing, but felt like they could have done a lot more with her and the idea that this is a tribute to 50 years of Bond music. What were Nancy Sinatra, Tom Jones, and Duran Duran doing last night? Wouldn’t it have been great if they did a montage of the greatest themes, with the montage video playing in the background and ended the tribute with a grand finale of Adele’s Skyfall performance? Not a great use of time.
- Musical tribute: This was an even worse use of time than the Bond tribute. They felt the need to show loooong intros of every film and then FINALLY went into a performance from that film. I felt this could have been easily condensed with MUCH shorter intros and shorter versions of the songs, or even a creative weaving of the songs from the different musicals leading up to Les Misérables. Again, it just needed to be tighter.
All in all I think they did a fantastic job making an entertaining award show that got away from the stagnant old self-gratifying white guy Oscars of the past. This is exactly what the industry needed and MacFarlane did a wonderful job. It pleased me as a film buff and it touched me as someone working in the industry.
End transmission.
I couldn’t agree more Casey! I enjoyed the Oscars last night! Much of it, was pretty funny! I think Seth did a good job, and i glad he was there, he brought a bit Trek to the show! Seeing as he is a big Trekker!
Oh yeah: The “We Saw Your Boobs” number sure was not “old self-gratifying white guy” Oscars – it worked well enough to set the expectations of what standard of fun to expect, though. In the end the interesting parts of the presentational framework (or however it is named) refresh were drowned in jokes of “Family Guy” standard. At least we know that MacFarlane ain’t no standup comedian now. Or maybe I am just too old to get it :)
I agree with most of what you said. Bond tribute was not well done, BUT, Dame Shirley Bassey at the tender age of 76 completely upstaged all the other young talents on the show. The audience practically leapt out of their seats.
Keeping Adele’s performance separate was probably a necessary choice mainly because it was a nominated song and rightfully should have been given it’s own spotlight.
I was expecting (as you were) the Bond tribute to end with Adele, but no one would have been able to follow Shirley.
As to Seth McFarlane. I am a fan of both Family Guy and his talents as a performer in his own right. After seeing his cable special and subsequent album Music Is Better Than Words, I really upped my respect of his talent. When I first heard the news that he was to host the Oscars I was overjoyed!
Not being a fan of his show you probably weren’t aware of his numerous references to classic Hollywood films and song and dance performances. (If you get the urge find copies of the Stewie and Bryan send-ups of the old Hope and Crosby road movies, you’ll find them delightful.) Here was a guy whose love for the movies clearly made him the correct choice. I would almost go as far as to say he’s right up there with Bob Hope as far as hosting prowess.
I hope they bring back a few more times.
I love the majority of Seth MacFarlane’s creations and enjoyed the skewering of Hollywood culture and related sensitivities he provided. I’d have liked to have heard even more pointed and wickedly humorous songs from Seth.
Regarding the many critics, people treat the ceremony as if it were a holy mass at which all words and actions should be safe and kind and the humor merely jovial. BORING!
Almost all montages at Oscar ceremonies could be shortened considerably in exchange for on-stage content and performances. I didn’t mind the length of the musical numbers and only mind the occasions when songs are shortened for medleys that could have featured one set of performers providing the impact that one song can sometimes have.
I only had a problem last night with the sound mixing. The vocals in performances were so horribly buried amidst the orchestras. No sound mixing Emmy for this show.
P.S. It’s probably blasphemy but I didn’t give a shit about Babs Streisand being there performing and was nauseated by her treacly intro and those icky asides in her Hamlisch tribute.
i loved it.seth did bring a little edgyness we needed at the oscars
Did you mean “self-congratulatory” and not “self-gratifying”? :P Either works, I’m sure!