Melanie's Post-Oscar Roundup:
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Well, last night LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING joined BEN-HUR (1959) and TITANIC (1997) as Oscar¹s biggest winners, taking home 11 awards; moreover, ROTK won in every single category for which it was nominated, besting both GIGI (1958) and THE LAST EMPEROR (1987), two Best Picture winners that went 9 for 9. (I¹ve just seen/heard Good Morning America¹s Charles Gibson announce that no other movie has ever won every Oscar for which it was nominated, and that is simply not true. Again, GIGI and THE LAST EMPEROR went 9 for 9, and the 1931-32 Best Picture winner, GRAND HOTEL was, in fact, only nominated for Best Picture, making its lone win even more impressive. On the other hand, to clarify, TITANIC, for example, won 11 awards out of 14 nominations.) Of course, the Oscars for RINGS¹s director Peter Jackson (and company) were as much for the entire RINGS trilogy as the one specific film, but that¹s okay, because RETURN OF THE KING is easily the best of the three (the others being THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING [2001] and THE TWO TOWERS [2002]). It would be tempting for me to say that my favorite win of the evening was Charlize Theron¹s for Best Actress, thanks to her mind boggling performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in MONSTER, but there was a certain inevitability in that. The win was gratifying and well deserved, but hardly a surprise. No, the win that most surprised me was Sean Penn for Best Actor, as a grieving father who can¹t escape his criminal impulses in MYSTIC RIVER. I think more than anything else, I¹m just relieved that Penn won, and that¹s mainly because I¹ve been telling just about anyone who would listen that the award was his to lose for months (since last May, in fact, when MYSTIC RIVER first screened at the Cannes Film Festival). For so very long it seemed like an open and shut case, I never even entertained any other possible outcome, but then, lo, Bill Murray started winning all kinds of year-end awards for doing his best Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION, and, suddenly, Penn was in a two man race. Then Ben Kingsley started making noise in HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, and Johnny Depp became something of a darkhorse favorite for the hugely popular PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. It¹s been no secret that I¹ve been cheering Depp, and it would have been great if he¹d won, but a victory for Penn feels right (even if MYSTIC RIVER, fine adaptation though it is, left me cold; the acting, specifically, however, is superb). I want to focus just a bit on Depp and Penn before moving on to the all the other stuff. I was glad Penn showed up, I mean, especially since he usually eschews awards shows. I thought after he lost to Depp at last week¹s Screen Actors¹ Guild Awards, he¹d chicken out, but he must have gotten a good talking-to by Clint Eastwood (his MYSTIC RIVER director). Anyway, one of the reasons I was glad he won, besides the fact that I don¹t have egg on my face, is that I¹ve always wanted to know what he would say at a podium if he ever actually won an award. And now I know. I honestly don¹t think Penn expected to win, so that was kind of neat. He was just sort of winging it. On the other hand, his speech won¹t go down in the record books for its eloquence, that¹s for sure. And why is it that Best Actor winners are more likely to get standing ovations than Best Actress winners??? On the other hand, what a trouper that Johnny Depp is. First of all, I love his new haircut. Yeah, I know, his hair was was still hanging down in his eyes, but it¹s good look for him. Depp is and always has been a little bit of a rebel (which doesn¹t mean he¹s not a sweet human being), and he just sort of goes his own way and that usually works for him. More importantly, however, is just how gracious this man was to thirteen year old Keisha Castle-Hughes (WHALE RIDER) when the two of them were finally introduced (after the young star revealed early in the pre-show that the celebrity she most wanted to meet was the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN star). Depp was extraordinary during that encounter, so thoughtful and gracious. I don¹t know the man, I¹ve never met him, but I can just tell there¹s a very sweet gentle soul under that bad-boy persona. Plus, again, he is just one good looking man. Now, maybe he¹ll get his own Oscar someday soon. I actually thought the best speech of the night came from Best Supporting Actor winner Tim Robbins (also, like Penn, from MYSTIC RIVER). Like Penn, Depp, and Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins has been known to be politically outspoken, but he toned it down, wwwaaaaaayyyy, wwaaaaaaayyy down, last night. I had no problem with him speaking out for victims¹ rights (or whatever you might want to call it), because it was a perfect fit with the theme(s) of MYSTIC RIVER--and I for one truly believe that Robbins had the more compelling role in MYSTIC RIVER (that is, compared to Penn). I also thought Robbins was a sweetie when he mentioned longtime love Susan Sarandon (looking appropriately misty-eyed.) I can¹t say I¹m especially thrilled for Renee Zellweger, the Best Supporting Actress winner from COLD MOUNTAIN. Of course, Zellweger is a Texas gal, and, lord knows, she put on a heck of a show in 2002¹s CHICAGO, but I don¹t think COLD MOUNTAIN is her best work. Yeah, she earns every one of the intentional laughs she elicits from the audience, but the role is cartoony, and Zellweger is a major star who deserves more than second-banana status. I think I¹ll just pretend that Zellweger¹s Oscar is for NURSE BETTY, or CHICAGO, or JERRY MAGUIRE instead. Meanwhile, hats off to Zellweger for thanking some of her former co-stars, including Vincent D¹Onofrio (THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD), and, especially, Tom Cruise (JERRY MAGUIRE). Finally, yes, it was a great moment when Sofia Coppola won Best Original Screenplay for LOST IN TRANSLATION. Yeah, it was a consolation prize (for losing Best Director), but Coppola has endured a few hardknocks in Hollywood (specifically, her dad¹s disastrous decision to cast his daughter in GODFATHER III) and has now found her own way. It¹s a good story, and now let¹s hope we don¹t have to wait another 10 years to see another woman up for Best Director. (Oh, and let me back-up to Theron for a second. I¹m glad she praised her MONSTER co-star Christina Ricci.)

Were there any outright disappointments? Well, I still can¹t believe the Academy didn¹t take the opportunity, after all this time, to honor DESTINO, the animated short-film which began as a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. Also, it would have been a great, great thing if the Academy had honored the arty GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING for its cinematography, a movie every bit as beautiful as a Verneer painting. (The great Dutch artist being one of the two lead characters in an otherwise fictional story.) Finally, I was really, really hoping that A MIGHTY WIND¹s ³A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow² would win Best Song, and judging from the applause both and before and after the performance (of it) by Eugene Levy and Catherine O¹Hara, I thought there was going to be an upset, a temporary reprieve from the ROTK landslide. Oh well, at least all three of the above films were nominated and will forever be recorded in the film history books, and that has to count for something. Also, I don¹t remember the particulars, but there was an instance when a member of one winning team didn¹t get a chance to speak at the microphone, and that¹s too, too bad. I¹ve said it before, and I¹ll say it again. When there are team nominees, for Best Sound (for example), they really should coordinate their speeches, so that each member gets to have his moment in the spotlight.

This was one of Billy Crystal¹s best-ever hosting jobs. The montage of him inserted into some of the year¹s most high profile films was actually funny (especially the bit involving SOMETHING¹S GOTTA GIVE), and his Best Picture song medley (especially singing about MYSTIC RIVER to the tune of SHOWBOAT¹s ³Ole Man River¹). The highlight of the whole show, for me, was, as already noted, Levy and O¹Hara performing ³A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow² in the guise of their A MIGHTY WIND characters. It was just a marvellous moment, and my hope is that it inspires folks who haven¹t already seen the movie to go rent it and watch it at home. The TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE production number was cool, but, I¹m sorry, the other three Best Song nominees were a dreary lot. The Sting/Allison Kraus number from COLD MOUNTAIN was interminable, and the follow-up, also from COLD MOUNTAIN (with Kraus, Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett), was only nominally more interesting, though awkwardly staged: a huge choir shuffled out onto the stage just for a few seconds of glory. Annie Lennox¹s ³Into the West,² from ROTK isn¹t a total wash-out, and I actually like Lennox (but not as a platinum blonde); she¹s a truly special talent, but I don¹t think the song in question is one of her best. I¹m glad, on the other hand, that Jack Black and Will Ferrell were there doing a silly parody of the music that is played when a winner overstays their welcome at the podium. Black¹s SCHOOL OF ROCK will be available for home-video this week, and is definitely worth a look. Other cool presenters: Own Wilson and Ben Stiller (with the latter decked out in character for STARSKY AND HUTCH), and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, taking to the stage to the strain of venerable ³Love and Marriage.² I also liked the bit with Blake Edwards in the runaway wheel chair, and his gracious speech. And, okay, how about that Adrien Brody and his breath spray (referencing last year's lip-lock with Halle Berry).

Okay, now, with all that out of the way, who wins Best Dressed? For me, the hit of the evening was Jennifer Garner in a flowing, one shouldered orange gown with a luxurious train (my husband the artist says the dress is actually melon-colored). Garner, perhaps, could have benefitted from stronger eye make-up, but that¹s a minor consideration. The dress was beautiful. Next in line: Renee Zellweger, in a strapless off-white (creme? ivory?) number, also with a train. I liked Zellweger¹s chignon and her diamond choker. I also liked Scarlett Johansson with her loose marcel waves, emerald green dress and....undeniably scarlett lips. The best of the rest: Jamie Lee Curtis in aqua chiffon, Marcia Gay Harden in royal blue, Best Costume winner Ngila Dickson in a black dress with a manadarin collar and a contrasting white shawl, Patricia Clarkson, in champagne colored sparkles, and Keisha Castle-Hughes, demure in all white with a sheer wrap. BTW, I don¹t think I¹ll ever forget the look on Castle-Hughes face when, during the pre-show, she stepped out of her limo (it was actually a hybrid vehicle) to face the crowd. She was clearly awed by the enormity of the situation. Also, Catherine Zeta Jones was stunning in red, and HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG¹s Shoreh Agdashloo was looking very glam. Backing up to Clarkson, champage was clearly one of the evening¹s dominant colors. Most of those neutral colored gowns were blah, even Theron¹s, although I liked the way her dress criss-crossed in the back.

I wasn¹t crazy about Sandra Bullock¹s white dress, mainly because of its bows, and the normally stylish Uma Thurman was a dud....I¹m at a loss as how to describe the look, exactly, except that brought to mind a debutant slumming as a peasant. Someone help me out here. Not surprisingly, the evening¹s biggest fashion faux-pas belonged to a woman not used to being in the public eye, and that would be Fran Walsh, co-producer of RETURN OF THE KING. Walsh¹s dress seemed not to fit her very well, and her badly teased hair with floral accents brought to mind punkett stand-up Judy Tenuta and/or THE ADDAMS FAMILY¹s Cousin Ophelia. Not pretty. Remember her? (Played on the old tv series by Carolyn Jones, better known for playing the seductive Morticia.) Last week I thought Liv Tyler¹s cat-eye glasses looked wonderfully retro at the Screen Actors¹ Guild Awards, but last night they just looked awkward...she just didn¹t look pulled together. Note to Angelina Jolie: tattoos and evening gowns don't make for a great look...invest in some heavy duty body makeup before you step outside your door.

Anybody who criticizes Diane Keaton¹s fashion taste at this late date is wasting their time. That woman just is who she is, and I love her for it.

For the guys: Depp, of course, but also Tom Cruise (who actually wore a tie: gray), and dashing Ken Watanabe, Cruise¹s THE LAST SAMURAI co-star, and Pierce Brosnan; meanwhile, I would have liked to have seen Peter Jackson make more of an effort to look less...rumpled. A comb would have been nice also. Jackson¹s had a few years to prepare himself, so there¹s really no excuse.

Any comments, feedback, differences of opinion?


thanks for your consideration,
Mp"