Lefty morons parading their emptiness before world observers. I cherish the few who choose to stay on the right and jeopardize their careers. Go sit on Hugo's lap, Sean, and show him your Oscar.

then Stiller's bit was mean. Why not pretend to be Michael J. Fox? Or Christopher Reeve? Mental illness never garners the compassion that physical illness does.

This is a very funny line, Ms. Havrilesky: "Now here's Ryan Seacrest, asking one of the little girls, "Who made your dress?" She just stares at him blankly instead of saying, "Bhavani Ismail, a friend of my mother's who sews out of her one-room shack in the Mumbai ghetto. She says it makes me look like the young Audrey Hepburn!"

Hey terkoy: you lost, fuckwad. Your philosophy has been utterly repudiated. We're in a Depression because of clowns like you. Go crawl back under the slimy rock you came from.

Hey sonofloud: In case you haven't heard, the President donated his $4600 to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. And believe it or not, there's room for frivolous Oscar talk. Nobody's forcing you to read it.

I know you! When I was a kid, Jimmy down the street would boil water and pour it on ants. You're Jimmy, aren't you?!?

Yes, you aknowleged that Mr. Obama gave his contribution to charity. That's what I get for reading too damn fast. Mea culpa.

Terkoy, you're still a dick.

Some kind of handicapping so that a Holocaust movie doesn't mean Instant Oscar. If Wall-E had a Holocaust survivor it may have won as Best Picture For Which We Didn't Have To Pay Actors with a special mention for Chaplin Did It Better, And Way Long Ago.

Every movie should include at least two or three references to the Holocaust. Truly. Congratulations, Kate.

My wife and I did the fast-forward DVR cringe through most of the awful stage acts. Even the Best Original Song was muddled and confusing, and the Beyonce/Jackman number was unintelligible.

I almost wept hearing those previous Oscar winners honor the current nominees. It was hard to watch those great performers mouth hyperbole about performances that weren't even shown. An odd sophomoric gravitas. Why not spend those precious minutes showing us some of the actual performances that were being honored?

Why no special honor for Paul Newman? Why wasn't Heath Ledger shown on the list of people who died in the last year? Very odd.

Most of the short comedy routines worked, at least. Jackman can't be blamed for having a good agent - he did as good a job as one could expect from good performer who isn't a comic. But as a whole it was odd, uncomfortable, and even more self-absorbed than usual.

Ledger died before last year's Oscars, and his tribute was included in that show.

Great review, Heather. I think this was one of the better Oscarcasts I've seen and I've been watching them for 35-plus years.

But it seems that you--and all the other letter writers--missed the best thing about last night's show: no rude, annoying, cruel musical cues drowning out the acceptance speeches and forcing winners off the stage. Look ma, they let the winners have their moments, and the thing still ended five minutes early!

I also loved how the winners were up on stage in just three or four steps. . .no long walk to the podium with all the attendant risk of falling.

Less chance that winners will trip and fall and fewer shots of loser's faces? Less chance that winners will be rudely cut off by the orchestra? Could we have witnessed a sadism-free awards show?

It's not a big deal in the scheme of things, but I'll take my evidence of progress whereever I can get it.

I thought Stiller's bit was mean, too, but not effectively so. He enjoyed being Joaquin too much, and who wouldn't?--while Joaquin plays with/feels out dropping out, being impromptu, in a way which suggests he might just get real about it, Stiller and others can go mean at Hollywood "scripting" in films like Tropic Thunder, but will remain Zoolander dancing monkeys.

Ledger was honored in last year's In Memoriam segment.

I enjoyed seeing the past winners pay tribute to this year's acting nominees, though the quality of the individual tributes was very uneven. Probably enjoyed Robert DeNiro's remarks about Sean Penn the most, but found the connection between Shirley Maclaine and Anne Hathaway very moving.

To those who didn't know Hathaway could sing, you should check out the delightful Ella Enchanted (click on sig for singing links).

You watch so I don't have to. Way to take one for the team...

.. certainly light years ahead of last year's dreary, tail-end-of-bush-years affair! Not since Quincy Jones produced has there been a ceremony with such brio and lift.

What more could anyone expect from a glorified trade show?

Careful such inane commentary like this column and you are destined to become one of the red carpet bobbleheads you mocked.

"unruly crowd of legendary actresses" - really?

While the individual commentary from each presenter in some cases was paced slowly or delivered a bit awkwardly, I think the overall effect for this being done in each acting category was to pay more tribute to each performer. It was a nice change of pace that let us remember great performance from the past while honoring the current nominees in a more personal way.

Usually, the Oscars are boring. This year, they weren't boring. I can't say that I was so enthralled by all the musical song and dance craziness, but it was entertaining. Not boring. I'm not a pop culture junkie, I don't know all the celebrities, I don't even generally make a point of watching the Oscars. Because of the boring thing. But if they continue to be this entertaining, I will probably keep watching them. I suspect that was the whole point.

People who CARE about the Oscars and have opinions about them will probably watch them regardless. People like me who only occasionally remember when they are on will watch if they are entertaining.