Each year people gather to watch The Academy Awards (AKA The Oscars), to vote for their favorites, and celebrate their love of film. Is it seeing their favorite stars? Seeing what they’re wearing? Enjoying and discussing the winning movies? Yes, all that happens. But what is always talked about the next day is how did The Host do? With over 84 years worth of hosts, there have been some bad ones and some great ones.
The 12th annual Academy awards in 1940 was the first time film and TV legend Bob Hope hosted. Up until then it was usually random actors or directors hosting. It must have been time to bring in the funny, and there was no one better than Bob Hope. He went on to host the Academy Awards 19 times, his last being the 50th annual Oscars show in 1977. Hope was followed by The King of Late Night, Johnny Carson, who hosted the show 5 times, proving that having a comedian was probably for the best. Because if you’re going to have to sit there for 5 hours, you might as well laugh and enjoy yourself.
As time went by and the nature of film was changing, the award show had to change and grow as well. Always striving to get a younger audience or at least give the older people someone they can know and laugh at, it was decided with the 62nd Academy Awards in 1989 to bring in funny man Billy Crystal, who has hosted the show 9 times to date and is probably the most well known host. He brought his sense of humor and a “take a bite out of Hollywood” style. He had his famous Best Picture song medley and quick-witted jokes that amused the crowd and made the TV viewers check in and give the show good ratings. Over time Crystal has come back when the shows producers feel he’ll bring the ratings up, which is normally the case. But with his last hosting of the 2011 show, it might be time for him to hang up his hosting tux. He seemed disconnected from what humor is now and he didn’t have the same vibe that once made him such a great host. Like all good things, there has to be end.
During the 1990s Crystal didn’t want to host, and the producers went in another direction, which happens about every 2 years or so now. And keeping with the comedians being the best host is what led to Whoopi Goldberg being the first solo woman to host the award show, starting in 1993. She has hosted the show 4 times and each time for the producers it became a “what’s she going to say next” situation. She brought her racy quick wit to the show which some loved and some did not. She had her own style to the show. She would dress up in costumes from the best pictures nominees or come in on wires from off stage. She brought a new dimension to the show that nobody had seen. She was a great host, but due to her political statements and views, she has not been asked back, ending her time in 2001.
Steve Martin has come to host the show 3 times, once with actor Alex Baldwin. He began in 2000 and brought a sense of classic style and comedy. He did his normal brand of slapstick, but also mixed it up with some real thinkers. His brand of humor has worked well on the stage and it would be great to have him back. Even paired with Baldwin they had a great chemistry and were fun to watch.
Now mixed in with all the great comedians hosting the shows, producers sometime like to try to “shake things up” to get a different vibe or new crowd watching the show. Sometime this works with Ellen DeGeneres (2006), Jon Stewart (2005, 2007), and even Hugh Jackman (2008). They all brought their own flare and funny to the show. Jackman got the gig because he hosted The Tony’s a few times and was great there, so the producers thought the same would work on the Oscars. It went ok. He wasn’t terrible, just wasn’t memorable either.
But who is memorable for all the wrong reasons are the poor hosts who are at the mercy of bad producing, terrible jokes, and just not being the right fit: Chris Rock (2004), James Franco, and his poor co-host Anne Hathaway (2010) and most infamously David Letterman (1994). They’re great in their own personal media, but on Oscar’s stage they fell flat and were left alone up there to die. Hathaway did what she could, but when working off Franco who was giving her nothing she can hardly take all the blame. It wasn’t a Letterman “Uma, Oprah, Uma” bad, but it sure wasn’t good.
A bad host can really bring down the entire show. It just makes you realize that you’re sitting there for 5 hours and it’s miserable. We, being the audience at home, can shut it off or watch via your DVR and skip all the bad. But the people at the show, ouch, they have to sit and take it. All this leads to now: The 85th Academy Awards hosted by Seth MacFarlane. You see why the producers asked him: Hit TV shows with Family Guy and American Dad, his first movie Ted which was huge hit this past year, and the young viewers know who he is. From a producer’s stand point, it’s a no brainier to have him host. He’s funny, quick on his feet, and people will tune in to see what he has to say. Also, he’s a big fan of the huge Hollywood singing numbers, so I’m sure one of those will happen.
I think it’s going to be a good show mixed with all the same boring parts we have come to expect each year. And with MacFarlane driving the ship, I feel a good time will be had by all. If not, the producers should just get Tina Fay to host. Her and Amy Poehler at these years Golden globes were fantastic, and really, they should just host everything. So we shall see. So tune in on February 24th and see what happens this year at the Oscars.
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