Even Paris didn't keep me from my Oscars

Picture the scene, Paris, 1am early Monday morning. The fashion world has mostly retreated to their hotel rooms or homes. On the now quiet Boulevard St Germain, one apartment opens its doors at midnight and welcomes a small group of Americans DESPERATE to not miss their beloved Hollywood's biggest night. Here are the characters gathered at the scene eagerly wawaiting Sky Premiere's braodcasting (yes, LA to London to Paris provided much angst in the room as the weird British commentators usurped every commercial interlude).

Mr E, pop culture master (I graciously share my title with him) who with Mr L makes sure to watch every possible nominee in every category and make predictions on who will be nominated and who will win beginning January 1 the previous year. Ms M and Ms W, fashion ladies extraordinaire who adore film but also have a fashion eagle eye for the red carpet. Ms B and Ms S, journalistic powerhouses who mingle in the worlds of Hollywood and Fashion and have keen insight (and fun tidbits) of both worlds. And then Mr T, Mr C and myself, avid pop culture and fashion fans thrilled to be able to watch the live event and take in the conversation of all the intriguing members of the gathering. I will include some of their commentary throughout today's blog.

Let's start with the fashion as, of course, there is a lot to say about that.

Hits:
Zoe Saldana -- In Givenchy, a couture dress in beautiful purple with crystals on the bodice that gave this ingenue a fashion statement for the insider and the masses.
Kate Winslet -- The best pale colored dress on the carpet -- an elegant YSL column dress that complemented her figure and classically beautiful hair and make-up.
Maggie Gyllenhaal -- The best use of color and print as a statement. I am not a huge fan of her acting, but this red carpet moment in Dries was a hit that was fresh, appropriate and well chosen.
Carey Mulligan -- One of the few black numbers, this Prada crystal stunner was chic, young and appropriate
Demi Moore -- I was a personal fan of the nude Versace as a good choice of a flesh color that did not wash her out.
Cameron Diaz -- Ms M and Ms W dramatically disagreed, but I loved her overall look -- the loose flowy hair, red lips, gold dress. I learned a lot about cheek filler from Ms W in discussions about Cameron.
George Clooney -- I have to put him down because he is simply the most handsome man ever -- the charming devilish grin, the classic Armani tux, and the new longer, grayer hair style.
Gabourey Sidibe -- For her audacious attitude - "If fashion was porn, this dress is the money shot." If spirit and heart a best look make, she wins best dressed by a mile.

For the worst, the group would like to collectively put a note out to the hair dressers -- BOOOO. Worst hair showing ever. Messy, messy, messy with flyaways and weird bumps. Kudos to Kate Winslet for best hair (SJP gets worst hair for sure).

Worst in fashion? SJP (gross yellow-cream colored dress with silver tin foil like appliques a la Chanel), Miley Cyrus (too tight weirdly colored gown and slouchy slouch) Charlize Theron (bust rosette pink and mauve Dior - Je n'adore pas Dior). Oh and Meryl for a white lady number that just made her look old and boring, neither of which she is.

Next up, the hosts. We all agreed that their experience, genuine comedic timing, and friendly rapport with each other and the members of the audience made them tops on the host list. I didn't think they did anything superbly original, but picking out members of the audience and spoofing Paranormal Activity and introducing presenters worked because they are so good at what they do. Kudos to Steve and Alec.

On the flip side, I almost fell on the floor when Neil Patrick Harris opened the show. As you know, I love him. But the sound quality was so bad, that I could not hear a word of what he was singing so every joke was lost and I just didn't think it was necessary. I know the director is a Broadway based talent (Adam Schenkman who created Hairspray on Broadway and coincidentally went on a date with Mr E back in the day:) but this and the insane dance number at 5am put me over the edge.

Some more technical snafus -- the best picture presenters who were in the middle of the room on a platform - the camera was so far pulled away, that we struggled to figure out who it was presenting. I mean I love a Ryan Reynolds full body view, and his voice was oozing charm, but one close up of his face would have been helpful. Waste of time explaining and introducing sound awards and short film awards. WE DON'T CARE EVER. I don't even think these awards need to be presented live, we certainly don't need to be educated on what they are for. Lots of chatter from Ms W and Mr T about the weird seating at the Kodak -- audience was in a semi circle and spaced out in a strange way. Oh and did I mention the DANCE NUMBER at 5am??????????

Let's talk best and worst presenters of the night. Best? Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr with a great banter on the role of the actor versus the writer. Ben Stiller in Avatar make-up for the Best Make-up award for which Avatar was not nominated. And from the end actor presentations (5 people present to the 5 nominees), Michelle Pfeiffer for her tribute to Jeff Bridges delivered with class and genuine love, Tim Robbins to Morgan Freeman with humor, Colin Farrell to Jeremy Renner with best pal genuine admiration, Oprah to Gabby (what a mind blowing moment that must have been for her!) for extending Gabby's excitement that much more. Plus loved seeing all of the brat packers for what was one of the best tribute moments in Oscar history. Lastly, I should give a Best presenter nod to Barbra Streisand as her appearance on stage literally brought Mr L to tears - seriously, tears.

Worst presenters? Miley, Miley Miley and shame on you for trying to bring Amanda Seyfried down with you by saying you were both nervous after flubbing your lines. Kristen Stewart, slouchy slouch whose nerves were overwhelming, Tom Ford and SJP because of the hair mistakes -- her flyaways and his chia pet dyed black on his head.

I guess you want to know my thoughts on winners / losers. In general was fine with everything, but would have preferred Avatar to win Best Picture and Up in the Air to win Adapted Screenplay. Was thrilled with Sandra Bullock win, but will get into that below.

And now Best and Worst speeches. Let's start with Worst: Sandi Powell for Costume Design who noted she has already won 2 of these before, Christophe Waltz for his canned speech, Monique for her super angry speech after being treated pretty graciously this awards season. Most speeches were ehh because we have heard from these winners throughout the awards season.

Okay, my favorite speech of the night? Sandra Bullock. Look, I know Meryl Streep is the best actress in the universe and I loved her as Julia Child and I know she hasn't won the past 12 times, but for me, this was not the Best Actress Award winning role for her. And I also don't think she "needs" to win - she is the best actress of her generation and more. And I know that Sandra Bullock does not push the envelope so to speak, but she gave a genuine, believable performance in The Blindside and would have ruined the film if it had even been a bit melodramatic or over the top. Her reigning it in and not creating a "character" worked for me. And I think she was genuinely honored to be honored, realizes this may not be something that will come to her again because of the types of roles she plays, and is a truly classy, classy gal. I leave you with an excerpt from her that touched my heart for many reasons...

"I would like to thank what this film was about for me which is the Moms who take care of the babies and the children no matter where they came from." And in thanking her Mom for teaching her life lessons, she says her Mom taught her, "We are all deserving of love, so to that trailblazer who allowed me to have that (pointing to her husband Jesse James), and this (pointing to her Oscar), I thank you vey much." Grace, elegance, emotion, best speech of the night.

Thanks again to Mr F and Mr L for a lovely evening, hope all of the cohorts got some sleep today - looking forward to next year!

As my US friends awaken, I leave you with this...don't be ashamed of your obsessions...or for absolutely loving Sandra Bullock right now.