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Don't get me wrong, people; I heart Jon Stewart, too. Heart him big time. But Cintra was spot-on about his bombing last night. Mere minutes into the show, he looked like he wanted to squirm right out of his skin.
It's not that all his jokes were bad--it's more that it was immediately, glaringly obvious that this was not the milieu for his particular brand of humor. Stewart's sense of humor is snarky, smart and self-aware. Perfect for a fake news show, but the kiss of death for an ass-kissy awards show.
In all honesty, much as I despise Billy Crystal's comedy in general, his brand of shameless, borscht-belt cheesiness is exactly what works when it comes to hosting the Academy Awards.
As for Cintra's other main point--about the tedious niceness of the Oscars--I also could not agree more. I freaking hate the Oscars anymore. They are absolutely no fun. We haven't had a good meltdown in years! It's a three-hours-plus show, people...we need a few moments of unscripted sloppiness and ego to keep us watching.
Finally, the fact that Crash won best picture this year...well, that about says it all about Hollywood and the cheap, derivative pablum it pawns off as artistic vision. Hollywood's very favorite passtime (well, aside from plastic surgery and competitive dieting) is congratulating itself on how very bravely it exposes the ugly truths in our society.
