The 77th annual Academy Awards

By Barry Garron

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It turns out that all that fretting and hand-wringing over the selection of Chris Rock as host of the Oscars was for naught. And more's the pity.


ABC Happy After 'Million Dollar' Night
Special Coverage: Oscars 2005
Foxx, Freeman Make Oscar History

In a highly publicized interview before the telecast, Rock said that black men, at least the straight ones, don't bother to watch the Oscars. Based on his performance Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre, they were offered little enticement.

In one sense, Rock must have surprised Academy members who worried that his edgy humor might prove offensive in this context. Not only did he keep his monologue and subsequent comments free of blue language, he still managed to offend. It's one thing to praise Hollywood greats, as Rock did when he paid homage at the open to Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. It's quite another to belittle the work of all other actors, including Tobey Maguire and Jude Law.

"There are only four real stars," Rock said, implying that many of those in the audience were . . . what — pretenders? Later in the show, Sean Penn, who might not have made the shortlist, pointedly defended Law. Who knew the best comedy monologue of the evening would come from Robin Williams, presenter of the award for animated feature film?

To be fair, most of Rock's comments didn't rankle, nor did they resonate. Jabs at President Bush were well-aimed, but a taped piece in which moviegoers at a Magic Johnson Theatre in Los Angeles admitted they hadn't seen a single nominated film was of dubious value. When one segment opened with a clip of Johnny Carson performing host duties, the ensuing applause seemed as much an expression of wishful thinking as it was of nostalgia.

Perhaps there wouldn't have been such an emphasis on the host's performance if this year's contests had been less predictable. Or if any of the nominated films had cracked the $100 million box office mark.

However, given the lack of a blockbuster and the relative anonymity of many of the award recipients, the focus inevitably turned to Rock.



ABC News: The 77th annual Academy Awards