Oscars unsurprising, minus MacFarlane’s crude humor

The 85th Annual Academy Awards proved to be an interesting one as Family Guy writer and voice-over phenomenon Seth MacFarlane took over hosting duties.
Seemingly, this was supposed to be MacFarlane’s year. With several shows on television, the release of his first feature film “Ted” and hosting the Oscars, one would think that MacFarlane would end the coveted night on top. But this was far from the case, as his hosting abilities were mediocre at best.
MacFarlane opened with a horrible stab at humor with his performance of “We Saw Your Boobs.” In the song, MacFarlane mentioned every major actress in attendance and sang about the films in which people saw their boobs, making sure to point out to Jennifer Lawrence that we have yet to see hers.
MacFarlane also took a stab at the Oscars’ youngest nominee, nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, saying that she was only 15 years away from being too old to be George Clooney’s girlfriend. Granted, it was a personal attack at Clooney’s choice in significant others, but there was no reason for him to bring up Wallis in that remark.
Despite the questionable hosting decision, the awards saw few surprises. Best Actor was won by the always talented Daniel Day-Lewis for his titular role in Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln”.
Best Supporting Actor was won by Christoph Waltz, a seemingly easy decision for the judges. Waltz won for his portrayal of Dr. King-Schulz in Quentin Tarentino’s film “Django Unchained”. This was Waltz’s second Oscar win; he has won twice while starring in Tarentino films.
Best Actress went to the not-so-elegant Jennifer Lawrence, who tripped walking up the stairs to receive her award. Someone should have an instructional session with her on how to walk in heels, because this was not the first time she has had a slip when walking to receive an award. I love Jennifer Lawrence, her movies and her acting, but I was more partial to Quvenzhané Wallis’ role in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”.
Best Supporting Actress was an easy call. Anne Hathaway walked away with the coveted prize after her phenomenal performance as Fantine in the movie-musical “Les Miserables”.
Best Director went to the talented Ang Lee. This was Lee’s second win in the directing category. Lee won in 2006 for his direction of “Brokeback Mountain”. This year Lee won for “Life of Pi”, and deservingly so. Lee was able to tell a story that I, personally, did not think would translate very well to film, but he told it so well that I was entranced while I was in the theatre watching “Life of Pi”.
The most coveted award in filmmaking was given to Ben Affleck’s “Argo”. “Argo” took home the prize for Best Picture and deservingly so. Ben Affleck produced, directed and starred in a film that told the story of the Iranian hostage situation during the Carter administration.
The Oscars had little surprises besides the lack of a decent host. Hopefully 2013 can compare when it comes to movies and top 2012 when it comes to hosts.