By ANNA MARIE BORIA
The biggest night in entertainment began with a controversial bang on Feb. 24, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Seth Macfarlane (Family Guy, Ted) hosted the 75th Academy Awards and brought a unique opening number to the show that raised eyebrows with his touchy jokes.
Macfarlane mixed several things in his opening number including, dancing with Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron to reenacting the nominated movie Flight with sock puppets. He even decently sang as part of his opening sequence to accompany his adult sense of humor.
His odd combination of different opening numbers brought a fresh and entertaining feel to the Oscars. His edgy performance healed the sting from the cliche and lifeless Anne Hathaway and James Franco Oscar hosts in 2011 and the mediocre but always safe Billy Crystal in 2012.
The awards for the four acting categories were not a surprise. Daniel Day-Lewis won for best actor in a leading role for his role as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln, who was the front-runner to win from the very beginning. The only surprise was Christoph Waltz for his best actor in a supporting role in Django Unchained. His performance was phenomenal but Tommy Lee Jones was favored to win for his role in Lincoln.
Jennifer Lawrence won best actress in a leading role for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. Her graceful fall on the stage as she accepted her award goes into the most awkward moments in recent Oscar history but she redeemed herself with a heartfelt speech. Anne Hathaway received her very expected Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her short but impacting role in Les Miserables.
Other highlights of the night include Adele’s breathtaking performance of her Oscar winning “Skyfall” the theme song from the latest James Bond movie with the same title.
The surprising, but well deserved, win of the night was Argo for Best Picture. Ben Affleck received much media attention in the past few weeks on for not being nominated for Best Director for Argo, but with him being a producer along with George Clooney, they both received their second gold statue of their careers on the coveted night.
Affleck won previously for screenwriting for Good Will Hunting with childhood friend Matt Damon. Clooney won for his supporting role in Syriana in 2006 and is now the second person in history to have been nominated for best picture, director, screenplay and actor in the Oscars overall.
The 2013 Oscars brought a number of laughs, memorable moments and surprising outcomes. Macfarlane entertained and rarely missed with his risky jokes that for the majority of the night kissed the border of inappropriate.
The biggest night of entertainment and the grand finale of awards show season did not disappoint and will go in the books as one the better shows of the Oscars.
