TELECAST REVIEW ROUNDUP: ELLEN PLAYS NICE BUT SHOW IS LONG AND BLOATED (MCN, NYT, WP, MSN, DHD)

By Nancy Vialatte

While first-time Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres generated praise amongst pundits following the telecast, voices also cried out in unison to lambaste a show that was bloated, poorly produced, lacking glamour and, of course, over long.

MCN�s Daivd Poland notes simply: �I thought it was the worst produced Oscar show in memory.�

The letdown began long before the evening wrapped up, but that was to be expected. Oscar night is the new Christmas, a commercialized tinsel-and-treacle holiday for adults. The ceremony is wrapped in the same extravagance, hype and 12 days of buildup, but viewers are spared the stress of holiday shopping, cooking and entertaining relatives. The closest thing to viewer participation is the office Oscar pool, the bettor�s Advent calendar. (NYT)

Tom Shales at the Washington Post pulled no punches calling the show �a bore and a horror� but called DeGeneres� perf �crisp and unpretentious.�

Virtually everything about the Oscarcast, except for a few mercifully brief features, was entirely, punishingly too long� After this year's ratings come in, though, maybe it will move to cable. (WP)

On MSNBC.com, the feeling is that the best moments were unscripted including Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt�s riff on Meryl Streep which had the Best Actress nominee shifting immediately into Miranda-mode to hearty response.

Perhaps this moment, including Streep�s reaction, was entirely scripted, but judging by both Hathaway and Blunt�s scripted lines and laughter, they were surprised and amused by their co-star�s ability to improvise and upstage their bit. (MSN)

On stage, a few presenters veered from the scripted comments such as George Clooney who said, �I was just backstage with Jack Nicholson and Vice President Gore, drinking; I don�t think he�s running for president.�

Whether scripted or spontaneous, these were the highlight of the long, drawn-out, ridiculously padded ceremony. While these moments don�t qualify as edgy humor by any means, they at least they were funnier than most of the pre-planned segments. (MSN)

As for DeGeneres, she did fire off a few cheeky remarks but mostly came across as a white-bread alternative to such hosts of yore as Jon Stewart and Chris Rock.

The Academy Awards are the one night when Hollywood struts and preens as if nothing is bigger or more powerful than the movie business. Yet the selection of Ms. DeGeneres, the first daytime talk-show host to serve as the master of ceremonies, was a reaffirmation of television as the dominant water-cooler medium � for the moment. The Internet is breathing down its neck, with red-carpet blogger coverage and sites that whittled down the evening into 30-second nuggets. (NYT)

But, Deadline Hollywood Daily�s Nikki Finke is not so keen:

I thought she'd make a great host. I thought that -- and I was wrong�I kept waiting and waiting for DeGeneres to crack a few jokes, any jokes. But none were forthcoming. Instead she stood in center stage and did her best "I'm cute and lovable" impression. True, criticizing her when she's like that is kicking a dear but retarded puppy. But she's also piddling in millions of American living rooms. (DHD)

In summary it was the night that the Academy finally killed off what used to be its show-stopper of a movie awards telecast. The problem is that I and the rest of America are the ones who bear the scars of Oscars, while Hollywood skips out to the doctor's office for an emergency round of Botox�Well, I say enough is enough. Who isn't sick of getting stuck sitting through an ass-killing show that runs on and on beyond reason with no entertainment within it to speak of? (DHD)

Related Links

Back In Biz... And Relieved That It's Over (MCN)
Bringing a Touch of Daytime to Hollywood�s Biggest Night (NYT)
The Broadcast: Long and Longer (WP)
Oscar�s best moments weren�t in the script (MSN)
Finke Final: I Bear The Scars Of Oscars (DHD)