Neil Patrick Harris' first and last year as Oscar host — Page 2

About 10:00pm last night I created a post about this topic but did not submit it because I thought it was overly critical.

NPH was an awful choice as host to begin with and now we see why. You can say it was the writing but say that it is Neil himself. I always get the feeling that he thinks way too highly of himself and his talent. Mediocre singing voice, way too much snark and he seems to act like he hasn't gotten older like the rest of us.

When Billy Crystal hosted, he had a lot of input with writing and topics. He could not sing and dance but he sold it each and every time. That is really why those telecasts were so successful. He did not stand up there and just read and smirk. An Oscar host needs much more input and control since they are the ones who are front and center all night. A seasoned professional would understand that. NPH was just taking full advantage of his over exposure and overrated talent and he was exposed. Thankfully because I will never watch another awards show he is involved with again.

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His Tony's two years ago was spectacular. This wasn't too hot. But the song performances and some of the speeches (Arquette!) made up for NPH's lack of entertainment value.

"Did no one else notice the single worst hosting transition? When the woman who won a lesser award mentioned losing her son to suicide, within seconds NPH made a joke about the balls on her dress? It was a moment of spontaneity that cannot be blamed on poor writing, and it was gasp-worthy. His tone deafness was startling."

It was crass and it bordered on misogyny. It left me wondering if NPH thought that his orientation gave him license to take a cheap shot at a mature woman who gave one of the most heartfelt and sincere acceptance speeches of the night.

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"Ellen can you hear me?"

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oops, double post.

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Updated On: 2/23/15 at 09:19 AM

Javero's comment on borderline misogyny struck a chord. Harris's self-aggrandizing and humorless display of pulchritude in the same show wherein he bashed women for their "look" just tonally off. This idea that being a cute gay man gives him a pass when it comes to white male privilege-fueled sexism, yes, doesn't work. And really, the 160 sniper kill LA industry joke was so strained and unfunny, its abject tastelessness wasn't even obvious until a 30 second delay. Notice the booth/producer fumbling to find someone to cut to (the Kyle family was strenuously avoided; but who thought we'd watch people roar and slap their knees as we recall 160+ dead people in Iraq, no matter what one's political persuasion. This wasn't a WW I joke, it's about the last tumultuous decade, not a time to watch elite show biz folk giggling over a war dead one-liner.) Ricky Gervais he is not. His arrogant grin isn't exactly a twinkle in his eye. I've gone from being neutral about this man to hoping not to see him anytime soon.

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Updated On: 2/23/15 at 09:33 AM

Is his Tony gig now forever over?

The Oscars are always an overlong boring mess. They did not disappoint this year. Sometimes a great host can somewhat save it. It did not happen this year.NPH looked like a single A baseball player being thrust into game 7 of the World Series. Totally out of his league.

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If he sensed early on he was on his own Titanic, did he just phone it in the rest of the way?

He and Dave Letterman need to get together and commiserate. How about they co author a book "How to not host the Oscars".

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Exceptionally unfunny writing + Harris's aging cute boy schtick = I went to bed long before the show was over.

You're welcome!

I actually felt bad for NPH, the writing was awful (and I believe it wasn't a comedian writing the jokes). It's far too conservative the Oscars so it kinda felt like his hands were tied. I liked the opening but the jokes after that were mostly lame, though a couple were quite funny. It also didn't help him that the whole night took on an odd political rally feel.

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"In his defense, hosting the Tonys is a different animal. It is not a big unwieldy mess like the Oscars but a tightly knit machine."

I hope this is a joke. I mean, I know we all love Broadway (that's why we are here) but the Oscars have proven to be a much more tightly run ship than the Tonys almost every year in recent history. I remember being at the 2009 Tonys and there were so many sound issues (and lest we forget, performers running into falling scenery in a ludicrous opening number)... and every year since I yell at the TV at the continual production issues, how wonky the show is, and how almost every musical number has zero relevance to a television audience that probably hasn't seen the show yet.

Unless you are in the business the Tonys watch like one is sitting on the outside of a joke being told by a bunch of close friends. I love the Tonys for sentimental reasons (and because I love theater) but the actual show almost never can hold a candle to the production quality of the Oscars. Just being objective. That said, all award shows suffer from some level of live disorganization, self-indulgence, and egg laying jokes. That's the beast. I actually found NPH fine... some jokes fell flat (He has a love for puns and I agree about the briefcase bit... too long a walk for such little payoff). But whatever, that **** is hard!!! He did just fine and the Ben Affleck joke was super solid. I am more upset that The Lego Movie was not only not nominated for Best Animated Movie but not nominated for Best Picture. That thing was brilliant.

I thought he was cringe-inducing also on several occasions and just seemed completely separated from years past. The making fun of the woman's dress after the suicide speech was what took the cake (I thought being in his underwear was bad enough).

Did anyone else notice the random music intros? Octavia Spencer walking out to "Love You I Do," for example? "Pure Imagination"? "Go the Distance"? Random!