By Brooke Thomas
The Oscars 2015 was what you would call “the norm” for an award show. Beginning with a performance by host Neil Patrick Harris and ending with the somewhat unexpected upset of “Birdman” over “Boyhood,” the over three-hour telecast tried the patience of even the biggest cinemaphile.
Of course, every award show tries to have some kind of shock moment it seems, but this show had a surprise that didn’t seem to be much of a shock at all. Making a spoof of the movie “Birdman,” Harris came onto stage in nothing more than his briefs and shoes, nothing we haven’t seen before with him.
There was a long list of nominees, but a very short one of winners. Nominees included: “American Sniper,” “Birdman” and “The Imitation Game” for best picture; Bradley Cooper, Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne for best actor; Felicity Jones, Julianne Moore and Rosamund Pike for best actress; “Glory,” “Grateful,” and “Lost Stars” for best original song; “Big Hero 6,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and “Song of the Sea” for best animated feature; and “Citizenfour,” “Last Days of Vietnam” and “The Salt of the Earth” for best documentary feature.
The winners included: “Birdman,” which took home the most Oscars, Redmayne, Moore, “Glory,” “Big Hero 6” and “Citizenfour.”
Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Levine, Tim McGraw, John Legend & Common, Rita Ora, Tegan and Sara & The Lonely Island, Lady Gaga, Jack Black, Jennifer Hudson and Anna Kendrick perfromed throughout the ceremony. The worst performance was said to be Adam Levine with “Lost Stars” while the best performance was John Legend and Common with “Glory” from the movie “Selma,” who brought the audience to tears with a passionate performance that merged the 1960s Civil Rights Movement with the recent civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Presenters included: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Hart, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Eddie Murphy, Channing Tatum, and Reese Witherspoon. While the show was long on star power, it was sadly short on humor.
Melissa Maerz from Entertainment Weekly praised the show.
“Neil Harris became my favorite show hosts ever with his very funny, risk-taking opening at the 64th Annual Tony Awards, the Academy Awards are a thankless gig: either you’re so respectful of your audience that the whole show is forgettable, or you risk offending everyone. Harris might be the only man alive who can make storming the stage in his tighty-whiteys look classy.”
It was not the most memorable year for the Oscars but at least viewers seem content with the winners.