|
 But the 41-year-old Broadway and television talent who came
to prominence as the child star of "Doogie Howser, M.D.," also
confronted a major elephant in the room, opening the show with a
fleeting but pointed jab at the homogenous field of Oscar
nominees.
"Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and whitest, sorry,
brightest," Harris enthusiastically dead-panned to hearty
laughter that seemed to break the usual pre-show jitters among
the movie royalty packing the auditorium for the 87th Academy
Awards.
The opening joke was a reference to the criticism Oscar voters
faced this year for failing to nominate a single performer of
color in any of the acting categories for the first time in many
years, including the critically acclaimed star of the civil
rights drama, "Selma," David Oyelowo.
It was the first of several politically charged moments of the
night, including Patricia Arquette's remarks in accepting her
statuette as best supporting actress for her role as a single
mom in "Boyhood."
"To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of
this nation, we have fought for everybody else's rights,"
Arquette said on stage. "It's our time to have wage equality
once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States
of America," she added.
"Citizenfour" filmmaker Laura Poitras went on to hail National
Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden as a hero as she
accepted the award for best documentary.
"When the most important decisions being made affecting all of
us are made in secret, we lose our ability to check the powers
that control," she said.
Her speech was quickly followed with a biting counterpoint, and
play on words, from Harris: "The subject of 'Citizenfour,'
Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason."
STANDING OVATIONS
In one of the evening's more emotional moments, rap artist
Common and R&B star John Legend sang a duet of "Glory," the
anthem from "Selma" that also has played at "Black Lives Matter"
rallies protesting lethal police force against racial minorities
across the country.
The two went on to share the Oscar for best song as composers of
"Glory," and their performance brought the celebrity-studded
house to its feet, some with tears in their eyes.
The second standing ovation of the night came after Lady Gaga
delivered a rousing medley from the musical film classic "The
Sound of Music," then welcomed the star of that movie, Julie
Andrews, onto the stage.
"Dear Lady Gaga, thank you for that wonderful tribute," said a
visibly moved Andrews, 79. "It's hard to believe that 50 years
have gone by since that joyous film was released."
[to top of second column] |
UNFLATTERING REVIEWS
Early reviews of the live ABC telecast, which ran about 40 minutes
beyond its three-hour schedule, were generally unflattering of the
show. And Harris drew largely harsh critiques from viewers chiming
in on social media.
Variety credited Harris with getting the show off to a buoyant
opening but faulted bad writing for what it described as a
subsequent breakdown in the telecast.
"Too much clunky scripted material flummoxed even Harris' impish,
good-natured charms," Variety's Brian Lowry wrote.
The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley called Harris' performance
"bland," while offering tepid kudos for his zaniest stunt of the
evening.
In a comic homage to a memorable scene from best-picture Oscar
winner "Birdman," Harris was followed on camera running from
backstage onto the show's main stage, dressed only in his white
underpants, black shoes and socks, to introduce presenters of the
sound-mixing award.
Time magazine's early online review said Harris seemed off his game,
despite having "been pre-sold as an expert live host."
Harris was perhaps at his best showing off his chops as a
song-and-dance man in the night's opening musical number - a salute
to movie magic that also marked a conscious effort to connect with
tech-savvy younger television viewers.
"Check out the glamor, and glitter/ people tweeting on the Twitter /
and no one's drunk and bitter yet/ because no one has lost," sang
Harris, the star of the hit CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," who
previously has won three Emmys for hosting Broadway's Tony Awards.
Another overt bid to reach younger viewers came in a musical
performance of the pop duo Tegan and Sara teaming up with former
"Saturday Night Live" star Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island trio
for a rendering of the kids' favorite "Everything Is Awesome," from
"The Lego Movie."
Turning one of last year's great Oscar faux pas into one of this
year's more comical interludes, John Travolta returned to the stage
as a presenter with singer Idina Menzel, whose name he mangled at
the 86th Oscars show.
He went out of his way to pronounce her name correctly this time,
then rather sheepishly stood aside to leave Menzel the task of
pronouncing the names of the best original song nominees. The
winners, Legend and Common, neatly brought the evening's political
and comic moments full circle.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Ken Wills and Sandra Maler)
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