Some quick thoughts from Palmer and I about last night’s Oscar Ceremony as we wrap up another year of awards season. I offer my Top 5 things I loved about this year’s show and Palmer commentates.

1) Seth MacFarlane’s Clever, Creative, and Hilarious Opening w/ the help of Ol’ Bill Shatner, Harry Potter, Man-Who-Can-Do-It-All-Joseph-Gordon-Levitt, and More

I didn’t think MacFarlane would do well. But his opening was funny, self-deprecating, and creative. Pushed the envelope, but did so cleverly and not with pure shock value.

Palmer’s Take: Agreed.  I thought the initial casting of Seth MacFarlane was a bit tacky, but he turned out to actually keep it somewhat classy (well maybe classy is going a bit far) – somewhat enjoyable, and kept the show moving along.

2) Daniel-Day Lewis Becomes First Actor Ever to Win THREE Best Actor Trophies – and he LOST for his roles in Last of the Mohicans and Gangs of New York (He won for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and then as Lincoln)

And, in his acceptance speech, he continues to be humble, quirky, and casually reels off a couple of the best jokes of the night.

Palmer’s Take: I love how Meryl Streep didn’t even look at the envelope but just announced his name.  What a terrible year to be nominated in this category, as no one else even stood a chance.

3) Adele gets one step closer to achieving that Holy Grail of Awards Achievements – THE EGOT (Emmy/Grammy/Oscar/Tony)! 

All she has left is the Tony and the Emmy! Let’s get on this, Broadway and HBO!

4) Jennifer Lawrence wins Best Actress.

I’ve been a huge fan ever since I saw her in Winter’s Bone and, in response to her nomination at 20 years-old, she said, “Well, usually my best friend and I get in our pajamas, order Chinese takeout, and watch at home. Guess I can’t do that this year.” Since then, she’s continued to amaze in blockbuster films, artsy Oscar bait, and in self-deprecating interviews on TV and in print that show she refuses to take Hollywood and herself too seriously.

Exhibit A: Here’s Jennifer Lawrence Being Awesome At The Oscars

Exhibit B:

And, if that’s not enough, check out her post-win interview backstage. Simply. The. Best.

Exhibit C:

Palmer’s Take:  She is the best.  I thought it was crazy that she did not win for Winter’s Bone as I thought it was one of the best performances of the last decade.  So glad she got her Oscar this year!

5) Ben Affleck gives one of my favorites Oscars acceptance speeches ever.

Look, Argo wasn’t the Best Picture of the Year. It was one of the best one’s. It was about my 4th favorite movie (after Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Beasts of the Southern Wild). But there were 6 or 7 movies this year that would have won Best Picture most years of the last decade. And Argo is deserving. It was the movie that was most accessible and most voters could rally around. I get it.

I also get that Hollywood loves its own and loves a movie about Hollywood saving people trapped in Iran. But it was a great movie, even if it wasn’t the best.

But I loved Ben Affleck’s acceptance speech. He was humbled. He was rambling. He was funny. He did what any reasonable person would do – literally thank everyone that had anything to do with the movie. In 7 seconds, he spoke so insightfully about marriage in talking about his wife, Jennifer Garner. He joked. He talked about it being hard work, but the best kind of work because there’s no one he would rather work with. He referenced that he had a lot of success early on, fell, but got back up with the help of his friends who served him and taught him.

He talked simply about working hard, not holding grudges, and picking yourself back up. Finished by giving a shout out to his kids.

Classy. Classic. Straight-from-the-heart. Which, on a night when Hollywood takes itself too seriously but movie nerds like me can’t look away, was exactly what was needed.

Palmer’s Take: Agreed, his speech was classy, however I am still in mourning for my Best Picture Pick, “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”  In a year of incredible films, I thought it was by far the most innovative, best acted, and most heartwarming film of the year.  If you haven’t seen it yet, come borrow it from the Williams’ DVD collection!  It’s now in my top 5 movies of all time.  And I want a Hushpuppy!

[His speech starts at 2:40 mark.]

Palmer’s Very Special #6 (kind of) Favorite Thing: The Jaws Music

Palmer’s Take: This year, instead of gently cutting people off with the swell of classical music, the Oscar producers decided to use the theme song from Jaws to abruptly let the winners know that they had better wrap it up or they would soon be eaten by a giant shark.  For most of the night, I thought the music was rude, awkward, and ruined the tone of a few heart-felt speechs, especially given that they only seemed to ”Jaws” people who were in the minor categories or who were not big stars.  However, when Anne Hathaway was giving her speech to accept Best Supporting Actress for Les Mis, I found myself singing the Jaws music at the screen.  I was ready for her insincere, over-rehearsed speech to be over.

If they had used the Jaws music then, I would have been a fan of it overall.