On The Oscars

From BookerRising

Well, I batted .500 in my picks.

My "think like a white, Hollywood liberal" strategy worked, as this is the best that I've ever done in my Oscar predictions!

I usually do atrocious in my guesses. I did correctly predict that Hollywood liberals were not gonna award three of the four top acting awards to black folks - Hollywood elites are self-congratulatory, but not that self-congratulatory - and that folks who claimed otherwise were smoking crack that it would be a historic night. Sure enough, at least one of the three coloreds considered a frontrunner for an acting Oscar lost. However, I was wrong that it would be Forest Whitaker, when instead it was Eddie Murphy.The ceremony: In the past, I've watched the Oscars with where Tivo was available.

This year, I did not. Huge mistake, as I had forgotten just how tedious the Oscars can be. And it definitely felt rushed towards the end. The Oscars were about 3.75 hours, when they could easily cut two hours. Just highlight the categories that most viewers actually care about and want to see, and save the rest for a non-televised portion that kicks off the ceremony.Good things about the night: Hollywood is (belatedly) coming up, awarding half of the top acting Oscars to black folks. Forest Whitaker's speech was moving.

Of course, Chicago is on fire about Jennifer Hudson's win, and our local media has been all over it. I look forward to when Hollywood regularly nominates and especially awards black folks for roles other than the stereotypical roles mix of slaves, pimps, servants, whores, criminals, athletes, or entertainers (the Academy has only 110 black members out of 5,830 members). One day, but we are getting nominated more than in the past. I also loved the "Dreamgirls" medley, which was billed as a "reunion" moment.

Definitely a highlight of the night. And Martin Scorcese finally got an Oscar. I even liked the segment where comedic actors Jack Black, Will Ferrell, and John C. Reilly sang about how comedic actors get no respect at the Oscars.BS moment of the night: For the second year in a row, the Best Original Song category provided it. At least Hollywood partly redeemed itself from last year's minstrel show performance and Oscar award for thug rappers Three 6 Mafia, for "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp". However, Melissa Etheridge winning for best song - "I Need To Wake Up", from the global warming film, "An Inconvenient Truth", was a case of politics over merit. While better than that dull "Our Town" cut by Randy Newman and James Taylor, her song was inferior to any of the three of the nominated "Dreamgirls" songs. When my black leftist best friend and I do a "did you see that b___t?" moment, you know it's foul. Apparently, I didn't think enough like a white, Hollywood liberal or else I'd have marked Ms. Etheridge's song down over a "Dreamgirls" pick.

After all, I forgot that gay is the new black. However, if Jennifer, Beyonce, and Anika had been singing about being hos, one of those "Dreamgirls" songs would've won.The politics: While making strides, Hollywood liberals are way too self-congratulatory congratulatory about this year's geographical and racial diversity, something that they should have done long ago anyway. I also loved how some folks waxed on about global warming (a topic that I agree we must address, although I believe its key proponents overstate their case).

Meanwhile, celebs want to preach to us but get transported in gas-guzzling stretch limos and SUVs, power their homes with tons of electricity, and fly in private jets. Yeah, real environmentally friendly there. Puhleeze. Even film critic Richard Roeper snidely commented on this point. On another note, I noticed small Mexican flags waving for the three Mexican directors who were nominated last night. Fine by me to do a visual shoutout to Mexico in the house, but had Americans done so, it would probably be called "fascist".Sistas & fashions: None of the brothas stood out - bad or good - so I'll focus on the sistas.

OK, whoever dressed Jennifer Hudson in that turkey-baster...oops bolero jacket....and blah, frumpy brown dress with tacky pockets that she wore on the red carpet know that he/she was wrong. Luckily, JHud took off that space-age looking jacket by the time the ceremony started and wore only the dress for her acceptance speech, and later changed in two other gowns - a red number for the "Dreamgirls" medley and later a light brown sequinned gown - that were much more flattering on her.Jada Pinkett Smith looked great, and she very rarely makes a fashion faux pas.Forest Whitaker's wife looked smashing in that yellow dress.

Beyonce looked decent, and she is clearly coming back from her "trying to look as white as possible" days. I was worried about her for awhile, because it seemed every time I saw her she looked ever whiter. I see she is eschewing the blond locks for more brownish ones.