On Sunday night, the 84th Annual Academy Awards were broadcast on ABC. Nearly 40 million Americans tuned into the broadcast to see their favorite movie stars in their element. This year's show received nearly 2 million more viewers than last year's, which ABC is surely all too pleased with.
Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars for the ninth time, which likely led to the spike in the ratings. Despite the return of a man who is considered one of the greatest hosts in the show's history, his presence was flat and boring at times.
The show was centered on "Old Hollywood." The set was simple and adorned with the signature red curtain, and the stage was positioned in front of an image of the Oscar statuette. The category that caused the most surprise was Best Actress. Meryl Streep came out on top for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Viola Davis, nominated for her role in "The Help," seemed to be the industry favorite for the win, despite losing the Golden Globe to Streep last month.
Despite the surprise, nobody would ever question whether Streep deserved the honor. It was her first Oscar win since 1982's "Sophie's Choice." With this year's awards, she is tied with Ingrid Berman, Jack Nicholson and Walter Brennan for three Oscar wins.
Katharine Hepburn remains in the lead with four Oscar wins. However, Streep has now been nominated 17 times — more than any other actor in history. When one considers that record, nobody could deny she was deserving of a win.
The night brought with it a number of first records and records set. Christopher Plummer, who picked up the Best Supporting Actor statuette for his role in "Beginners," became the oldest Academy Award winner in history at the age of 82. He will probably forever be remembered for playing Captain von Trapp in the 1965 classic "The Sound of Music." But it was this new role that led him to Oscar gold. Jean Dujardin picked up the award for Best Actor for his role in the silent film "The Artist," becoming the first French person to ever pick up the honor.
"The Artist" is essentially a French director's take on Hollywood's silent film era before the "talkies" came and took over, effectively destroying the careers of silent film stars whose voices did not equate to box office winnings.
"The Artist" picked up the top honor of the evening, the award for Best Picture. It is only the second silent film to win the award and the first silent film to win since 1927's "Wings." Michel Hazanavicius picked up the Best Director statuette, bringing the film's total number of wins to five.
Another momentous event of the evening was when Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Help." The crowd gave the actress a standing ovation as she came onto the stage. Spencer's career has left her in bit roles, playing a co-worker or a friend. Her role as an outspoken maid in 1960s Mississippi earned her rave reviews and respect, which was long overdue for the actress.
Angelina Jolie was a presenter for the evening and was accompanied by Brad Pitt, who was nominated for Best Actor for his role in "Moneyball," as well as Best Picture for the same film, as he was one of the producers.
Jolie presented in a dress with a high slit, and as she came to the microphone, she jutted her right hip out, revealing her entire leg to the shocked and entertained crowd. Despite not being nominated for anything, Jolie seemed sure to get the attention she was craving. Luckily, she wasn't able to steal the entire show.
The Academy Awards have become paramount to our culture in so many regards. Once upon a time, families would gather around and watch the awards and gaze at movie stars in the highest regard, as these were the days before out-of-control paparazzi and online gossip websites. The majority of America would tune in each year to find out who won the awards.
Typically, the more mainstream the films that are nominated, the higher the ratings for the show. An awards show really is not that important of an aspect of the industry. But as long as there is art being produced, rest assured, Hollywood will pull out all the stops to put on a show.
