University of Hartford Informer (subscription) - West Hartford, CT, USA - Glamour, glitter, tears and gold all define the monumental night that is the 80th Annual Academy Awards. Another big year for an award show. But the Oscars lucked out and the writer's strike ended two weeks ago so it was a not a night full of montages of past shows.
The night was full of witty introductions, and
Jon Stewart was the perfect host. He brought laughs and spur of the moment jokes that kept the audience interested when some of the acceptance speeches put them to sleep. No actor or actress was safe from his biting humor.
He went after
John Travolta saying that his jet was parked in the wrong airfield and needed to be moved right away. Travolta ran back out on stage to grab the keys. There were a few notable pregnant actresses in attendance, so Stewart made his own award, "Who Gets the Baby." The actress's pictures were put up on the screen in anticipation and then the award was given to
Angelina Jolie.
Steward continued throughout the night and there was never a dry spell. He even poked fun at the acceptance speeches, which was quite entertaining.
The intro segments into the major awards brought just the right amount of past winners without going overboard. They did show all of the past Best Picture winners as well as all the best actresses and actors in leading roles and in supporting roles. They showed highlights of particular acceptance speeches like
Cuba Gooding Jr.'s battle of wills with the orchestra in the pit. He was the first winner to take on the orchestra and win, making it one of the most emotional and gratifying acceptance speeches in the history of the awards.
