Oscar Coverage 2011: I'd throw a double thumbs-up too if I were at the Oscars

This week has turned out to be busier than expected, but I wanted to give you my rundown of the Oscar ceremony itself. Here are my somewhat random, disjointed, yet always definitive thoughts on the ceremony:

• Anne Hathaway swung wildly between annoying the shit out of me and charming the pants off of me. Try not to combine those two images mentally, not a pretty picture.
• Much has been said of James Franco's "Performance". Namely, that it was a performance, that he used the opportunity to create performance art. In my opinion, it was neither art not a performance. He just came off like a stoned douche. That's right. I said it. Some lauded him for at least inciting people to care about the Oscars and actually talk about it and debate his intentions. I can see that, but have to wonder if Anne knew about it or was panic-stricken when she realized he was checked out from the start. 
• Overall I thought the entire ceremony lacked a focus and any kind of thematic thread. Pieces seemed random and out of left field. As you've clearly seen, I love the Oscars, but found them quite laborous this year.
• However, in an attempt to give the producers the benefit of the doubt and just a little bit of credit, here are some things I did enjoy. I thought the recorded opening with Hathaway and Franco was hilarious and wouldn't mind if Morgan Freeman narrated my dreams as well. I also loved the banter between Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr. Who doesn't love a good story about a hooker dressed as a superhero? And lastly, these kids were too cute, so excited to be there, and damn good singers to boot. 

Check me out! I'm on a stage! On TV! In front of hundreds of celebrities!

Thoughts about the winners:

• Melissa Leo. Where to begin. She has irked me since the beginning of awards season. Her acceptance speeches (and she's given many for awards that she has earned and deserved) come off as so humble, so surprised, and so overly appreciative that it seems disingenuous. Her acceptance at the Oscars was no difference. She was SO surprised and SO overwhelmed and I just don't buy it. She's won almost every award this season for Best Supporting Actress so why was this such a shock? Either she has very low self-esteem (highly unlikely due to her self-promoting Oscar campaign) or her insincerity has reached levels of self-flagellation. Oh, and dropping the F-bomb during the speech? I believe it was planned. She is a talented actor, but personally, not a fan.

• Enough bitching. Onto the exciting stuff! This guy was incredibly adorable, thanked his mom, gave a shoutout to the love of his life, not only acknowledged his other nominees, but encouraged us all to check out their films on iTunes, and was just self-deprecating enough to make us root for someone we only just met.

• This guy has won my heart forever and not just for his sparkly buttons. His was my favorite acceptance speech of the night. In every way that Melissa Leo went wrong, he went right.

• I'm happy to live in world where Trent Reznor has an Oscar. Plus, the score for the Social Network was pretty phenomenal.