The Oscars + my TiVO = pretty entertaining

The Academy Awards show would be unbearable without TiVO, but with extensive fast-forwarding the program was actually entertaining last night. I am willing to take the chance of missing something interesting to speed past the 80% of the show that is boring or redundant. I love Jon Stewart, so any time he hosts I am already having a good time.

With so much celebrity trash spewing from the media these days, it was wonderful to see everyone looking so classy. Here are a few thoughts on the show:

Stars I'd most like to meet: Cate Blanchett and George Clooney. And Harrison Ford, since I'd had a crush on him since 1980 (though now that he's actually dating someone my age that seems pretty odd.)

Star I'd most aspire to be like someday: Helen Mirren. She is the coolest ever.

Many of my thoughts about the show centered around the Best Song category, one I almost never care about. But last night was a big exception:

I loved the gospel choir from August Rush. Their performance was enough to make me want to rent the film, even though it's supposed to be sappy and cloying.

Enchanted was a cute movie that deserved one nomination for "That's How You Know," but why oh why oh why did Enchanted get three nominated songs when the far superior Hairspray received none? Hairspray suffered the biggest snub of the year, getting no nominations at all. John Travolta presented the award for this category, which I thought was ironic, and gracious of him considering that he had starred as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.

Speaking of "That's How You Know," if the wonderful Amy Adams performed one song in the show, why didn't she get to sing the second? Kristin Chenoweth is a talented performer but she's not Giselle. It was weird seeing another actress sing her showstopper song when you knew that Amy Adams was in the house.

Given the nominees, the most important thing to me was that "Falling Slowly" from the Irish indie film Once actually won! This little gem deserved the recognition for its brilliance that stemmed from the music and performances by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. If you haven't seen Once, and you like music, or independent films, or romance, or Ireland, you definitely need to watch the DVD.

But....then....the duo got up to accept their Oscars, and after Glen gave his short remarks, Marketa got totally dissed when she was immediately cut off by the orchestra!

Jon Stewart saved the day by bringing Marketa back out to give her eloquent thanks. As far as I can tell, this move was unprecedented in Oscar history, but well-deserved, and saved the Academy from one of the most insulting faux pas ever. This wasn't twelve people getting up and droning on...it was a songwriting, singing and acting duo standing up to take credit for their partnership. I don't know whether the producers or Stewart himself made the decision to bring Marketa back out, but, bottom line--you go, Marketa and Glen, and Jon Stewart, could I love you even more????

Finally, I'm going to bestow an award for the Ultimate Movie Mojo Mom of 2007. I've never even thought of doing that before, but there was one actress this year who played a mother so full of courage, joy, and mojo that she inspired a shout-out. The winner is....Queen Latifah, for her role as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray.

Congratulations, Queen Latifah! Stop by for lunch sometime and I'll find a gold statue to give you.

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What did you think of the Oscars? A really big show, or a really big snooze? Which of the nominated films did you actually see? I'll add Michael Clayton to my list of must-see movies. I wanted George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson to win their categories. I enjoyed seeing all the Europeans win, but I have to admit there is a slim to none chance I'll go see There Will be Blood or No Country for Old Men unless I hear from you that they are worth wading through their darkness.

School's back!

I have a lot to write about this week but I had to start by saying that SCHOOL IS BACK in session here.

If you have seen High School Musical 2, you'll know the first scene where the kids count down the last few minutes until summer vacation starts, and then break out in song and dance when the moment arrives. I kept envisioning that scene playing out in reverse this morning as parents celebrated a return to normalcy.

We had lots of fun early in the summer, but by the second week in August we were as lifeless as the vegetation drying up in the 100 degree heat. It was too hot to play outside, and most of our playmates were out of town. Even my daughter said, "This was the worst summer ever!" I didn't take that too much to heart, because I have noticed a trend that if the last three weeks of the summer were boring, then kids will say the whole summer was boring. This was true even of my neighbors who took their teenagers to China!

But I am happy to be back at my desk, digging out from about 1001 emails I need to write back, piles of paper that you don't even want to know about, and reveling in a chance to plan my fall.

The sensation of freedom comes from not having to be accountable to anyone for my time during the day. I felt guilty all summer trying to write while my daughter was home. That is never a comfortable fit for us. Most of the summer, when I had a break, even a "break" to work, it had a definite and short time limit associated with it. I am a creature of habit and I am happy to report that I love my normal life, no extended "breaks" required.

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As a final summer fun suggestion, I wanted to say that if you haven't seen the movie version of Hairspray yet, you should really catch it before it leaves the theaters. I didn't think I would like it, but I loved it and so did my parents, husband and daughter. It was exuberant, joyous, and the music was fantastic. We bought the soundtrack right after we saw the movie, and we've been singing and dancing to it all summer. Newcomer Nikki Blonsky rocks the house as the heroine Tracy Turnblad, holding her own among the incredibly talented cast members.
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I think 7-year-olds are obsessed with disguises and reality, so just deciding which hair was real and who was wearing a wig really intrigued my daughter. She couldn't get over John Travolta as Edna Turnblad. I showed her Grease the other day and it blew her mind to try to put together a hot teenage stud and an overweight, shy, age 50+ woman (who finally channels her inner mojo!) as the same person.

And yes, High School Musical cutie Zac Efron costars in Hairspray as well, as the sweet teenage heartthrob. Even if you are completely burned out on all things HSM, don't let that stop you from seeing Hairspray. It's too much fun to miss!