I think I can safely say I grew up in Hollywood.  No, Hollywood isn't an actual place, it's part of L.A., but any of you who grew up out there [and there are a few of us] you know what I'm talking about.  It means growing up in an area where the billboards are all about the movies.  It means checking the Calendar section of the LA Times every day to get your news - before you go to the front page [if indeed you ever do read the front page of the Times].  It means hardly ever venturing onto Hollywood Blvd because that's where the tourists go.  And, in our family, it meant that once a year Dad got gussied up in his tux and headed out to pull an all-nighter for the Today Show. 

 Yes, it's Oscar time again!  Last night Sarah, Beka, Rachel and I got all gussied up in our comfy clothes/pjs and sat ourselves down in the living room to watch this salute to "Hollywood's finest".  {A-hem, a-hem}  Because it starts so late on the east coast we actually watched the Red Carpet walk this year.  The dresses looked [for the most part] lovely - thank goodness the classic look is back and we no longer have to look at half-dressed women.   The men, however, seemed to still be going for that half-shaved retro-Don-Johnson look.  It looked dumb in the 80's....it looks dumb now.

So onto the show.  I can sum it up in a word: Yawn.  I have seen many, many Academy Award shows - this one takes the Oscar for Most Boring Attempt in Entertainment.  I know the writers have been on strike but, c'mon!!!  What WAS that opening monologue about?  Well, I did hit the mute button during the political endorsements.  I can get that from CNN, thank you.  But the rest of it - blah, blah, blah.   And what about the big opening number?  I know it's cheesy but it's usually fun!  And if they were going to have montages throughout the show [you know, to make up for the lack of writing due to that writers strike which, FYI, is over!!!] why not make them good montages the way they've been in years past??  The musical numbers were pretty good, but who decided to have Amy Adams sing "Happy Little Working Song" without her happy little workers?  There were plenty of backup dancers and extras for three other songs [though the song that acutally DID will the Oscar kept it nice and simple] so would it have killed them to beef up the first number?

Watching the Oscars I got the feeling that everyone was pretty much calling it in, last night.  There were a few exceptions in the acceptance speeches - a few emotional people - but the biggies seemed to be rather blase [Oh gee, we just won for Best Director and now they're calling us back out for Best Picture - ho hum...]  The classiest, most Oscar-like moment happened when Honorary Oscar-winner Robert Boyle took the stage and gave a beautiful acceptance speech [and notice they didn't dare "play him off" with the music].  Thank you, Mr. Boyle for reminding us how it used to be.

I think the best way to summarize last night's show would be to say it ended before midnight back East.  That is, by 9pm in the West folks were heading out to the post-Oscar parties.....which were infinitely more entertaining, I'm sure.  As for my father, the tux is gathering dust in his closet [that is, if he hasn't given it away by now] and he is no longer required to pay any attention whatsoever to the Academy Awards.  If my mom had her way last night they were tuned into PBS, to watch Elizabeth Bennet get her man.