The 81st Academy Awards

Last night we had an Oscar Party here at my place. To say that my place was not the ideal location for the event would be an understatement. It was one of the hottest nights of the year, because of construction there can be no AC's anywhere, and there was limited seating. Regardless of those minor details we had a blast. We all bet on each category and kept track all night long. We also kept record of our faves from the red carpet. I have to say that there were a lot less people on the red carpet this year. I wonder if they're all following Angelina's example and snubbing E! en masse?

I would have included a bunch of pictures of the gathering, but I'm not quite sure what happened with the photographer(s). Every picture is uglier than the last. There were so many unflattering pictures I couldn't find one that I felt was ok.

Since there's no photographic record I'll just tell you what we had. The theme was English tea, so we had cucumber, radish, pate and apple finger sandwiches, as well as shrimp and mango wraps. The drinks were vodka tonics and sex on the beach. Our original plan was to have iced tea (in keeping with the English tea theme), but when the boys decided to join us we had to change gears a bit in order to make them happy. That's our excuse for all the alcohol. For dessert we had a fluffy orange cake with apricot whipped cream. Yum!

Now for the highlights of the big event:

Hugh Jackman was great. He's an entertainer. A classy one. Old Hollywood glamor style. I love it! He sang and danced and was altogether terrific.

I loved that Kate Winslet won. I feel it's been long overdue.

I loved the way they had past Oscar winners come out and say something to each of the actors nominated. For the most part it was heartfelt and touching and I think it was a good way to honor everyone who was nominated.

I loved that Heath Leger won. He earned it.

I didn't care for some of the montages. They were confusing.

I didn't care for the fact that Sean Penn won. He's a tool. I wanted Brad Pitt to win. I felt he deserved it and was maybe passed over because he's not an ugly train wreck like Penn. Plus, he just got back together with his wife (she has such poor judgement), and he didn't even think to thank her. He must have thanked everyone he knew including Jorge the hotdog vendor and Marco the gardener, but he didn't thank her. He is so unworthy of the Princess Bride.

I liked the little kids from "Slumdog Millionaire". They were adorable. Little tiny kids speaking in English with a very thick Indian accent - priceless. I also liked the fact that the film took home all the Oscars. It was so unexpected and they were so grateful. They deserved it.

Some of the documentaries and short film animations that win baffle me. I don't know who judges this stuff or how it even makes it out into the public, but it just seems so inferior. I know that random members of the academy vote on the winner, but do they even watch it? Especially the short animation is just so lame. Here's the other thing: so what that they won. Do they have to televise it? We don't care - at all. It draws out the event and takes some of the charm out of it. There's always some really geeky person who goes up there and thanks everyone they ever knew. They always look very excited and energetic, but they usually have an air of they-don't-let-me-out-much.

Here's another thing I don't get: Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. Aren't they almost the same thing, if not the exact same thing? Shouldn't it just be one category? I really don't get it. And it's even worse when different movies win for those categories. It's usually the same one, but last night it was two different ones. Confusing.

Stay tuned for Oscar beauty tomorrow, or maybe the next day, I don't know yet.

I totally forgot that one of my favorite moments was when Ben Stiller came on with a beard and chewing gum pretending to be Joaquin Phoenix. It was hysterical!