"Not everything was trivial Joanna. A tribute to New York so sincerely done by woody Allen and Ms. Ephron was not trivial. Sidney Poitier's achievement is not trivial. Randy Newman's talent is not trivial. Neither was Mr. Morris' short documentary where we saw ordinary people, ourselves, and a couple celebrities like Susan Sontag talking half-seriously about movies. Why is "Sopranos" an exception, it comes from the same factory with same formulas? How's a commercial "Chekhovian'?"
I missed the tribute to New York. Sidney Poitier is a fine old-school gentleman...etc. But you know, the point of the Oscars is the spectacle, the fashion show, the cultural icons, etc. If you find greater depth, I guess you're getting more for your money than I am. I walked away with the following impressions: 1. bras are out. 2. botox rules 3. Hollywood must be feeling more guilty than usual ...according to my jaundiced view, when they give top awards to people of color, it's basically Hollywood that's getting the award.
By Chekhovian as applied to commercials, I meant "intimate, realistically fragile, seemingly uncomposed" ...they looked like that to me compared to the main show.
Joanna