And the winner is...DVRs!

People love to bash the Oscar Awards show, and truthfully, I haven't watched it in several years. The last time I watched I remember it as being interminable and interminably boring. But last night as I walked through the room where others in the family were watching, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin caught my eye and ear and I sat down to watch. I must admit, much to my surprise, I quite enjoyed it.

Steve and Alec were a good team, I thought, and they struck just the right note of irony as they poked gentle fun at the high-powered Hollywood celebrities in front of them, particularly their prime target George Clooney. They actually made me laugh out loud a few times, which isn't always easy. Several of the presenters brought smiles and chuckles, if not outright guffaws, as well. Ben Stiller was a hoot in his blue Na'vi makeup presenting the award for make-up artistry and Tina Fey and Robert Downey, Jr. played off each other perfectly as they presented the screenwriters' award.

The fashion show was, of course, fascinating, and I thought most of the dresses were quite beautiful, although some were admittedly a bit on the bizarre side. But it wouldn't be Oscar without a touch of the bizarre. Strapless dresses with tight bodices and big skirts seemed to be the theme of the night. Several of the stories I saw about the show today compared it to prom night. Not an inapt comparison, actually.

The pace of the show was pretty brisk and there was little of the tedium and awkwardness that I remembered from acceptance speeches in the past. Of course, it might have helped that we were watching the DVR'd version of the Oscars and so we were able to fast forward through commercials and any speeches that we weren't interested in hearing. The three hour plus show thus took just about half that time. Yep, I think the DVR has definitely been a great advancement in one's enjoyment of awards shows.

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