and the oscar goes to...

When M was little, she used to imagine herself standing on the podium at the Olympics.  I had a different dream.

Mine was to win an Academy Award. 

I have always been enthralled with the film industry.  My dad was in the recycling business, long before it was fashionable.  At least once a week he would bring home comic books and magazines.  My sisters and I liked Richie Rich and Archie.  But my favorites were Photoplay and Modern Screen. 

I fantasized about one day gracing their pages, along with Debbie, Elizabeth, and Marilyn.

I performed throughout my childhood, some would say more off stage than on.  But while in college, I realized I wasn’t very good, and never pursued a career in acting after graduation.  The closest I came was working in television, and now voting for the BAFTA film awards.  I take my role seriously, and see all the award-worthy movies. And for as long as I can remember, I have never missed watching The Academy Awards.  Tonight they are on.

Some years I’ve hosted parties.  But many of my friends work and don’t like being out so late on a school night. Plus, there is something to be said for putting on an old pair of sweats, and sitting makeup-less in front of the TV, watching all the glam.

Ellen DeGeneres is hosting.  Her easy-going humor adds much to an otherwise drawn out affair.  I have trouble staying awake.  Too many awards that no one cares about.  Highlights from the Scientific and Technical Awards?  Can there really be highlights?

90 minutes in and only one major award given.

I think of the play Meredith and I see today, Outside Mullingar, starring Debra Messing and Brian O’Byrne.  A reviewer for AM New York sums it up perfectly:

While the play is meandering and uneventful, it opens up

considerably in the heartwarming final scene where Anthony

and Rosemary finally connect in spite of their hesitations and quirks. 

It serves as a hearty payoff after an hour of straight boredom.

Not too different from tonight’s Oscars.

At three and a half hours, the show is too long.  Why can’t the producers learn from the Grammy’s and The Golden Globes?  Cut the awards that only industry insiders care about, and focus on the stuff the rest of the world wants to see.  But I doubt that will happen. Even the sound- mixing people and the short film, live action creators want to be on tonight’s stage.

And so I will watch them.   Next year, and the year after that, and all the years that follow.