A joke about the Kardashians being hairy.
I thought he was bad, but not terribly bad. Just not all that funny. “Boobs” was sophomoric and stupid, his entire intro was way too long, and overall he just seemed over-rehearsed and smug.
I can’t help but compare him to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who really are the best awards show hosts I’ve seen in years. The Oscars would do well to hire them, or just get rid of a host altogether.
I found him painfully unfunny. Not Billy Crystal bad, but in the same ballpark. The jokes would have been groan-worthy in 1975. I kept thinking, “Are they still letting Bruce Vilanch write this shit?”. Just hacky, and the stuff that was supposed to be “edgy” was just stupid, much like Family Guy. It really seemed like the jokes were beamed in from 40 years ago, and his constantly laughing at them after delivering them only made it worse. I’m baffled that anyone could think he did a good job. Of candidates they’d realistically ask to host (i.e., no “alternative” comedians), Stephen Colbert would have been my pick. Hell, even Louis C.K. is probably well-known enough to be up for it. Just awful, IMO.
I put bad but not terrible. It’s not his jokes even though a few were borderline inappropriate (but hey he’s Seth McFarland) but his timing and pacing was all off. Does anyone know who has final veto over the bits? Is it the writers, the host or the producer?
On the plus side:
Sock puppet Flight. In hindsight the Billy Crystal Best Picture montage to open the show could have been replaced by a sock puppet montage. Can you imagine a orange sock with stripes as Richard Parker or sock puppets with cigarettes for Argo?
“A presenter that needs no introduction.” <walks off>
I didn’t watch the broadcast, but based on his boob song (which I just Googled) and the joke about John Wilkes Booth, maybe I should have. That shit was funny.
Regards,
Shodan
The Oscars host is heavily criticized every year. One reason is that it’s a very difficult job, especially for a first-time host, and a lot of folks are only getting one crack at it.
I did not think he was particularly good, but I thought he handled himself well for a guy whose business is not live entertainment before very large audiences.
I thought that ben Affleck’s snipe at him after the facial hair joke was childish and churlish.
Yeah, but another reason is that they usually suck.
I turned it on about an hour in, wanting to laugh at Seth. He went from not funny but trying to be all the way to offensive w/ his anorexia joke, stupid w/ his ‘it’s a good thing these three Spanish actors are good looking b/c we can’t understand them’ joke introducing Salma Hayek; then I just muted it when he riffed after that.
This bite was too big for him to chew. I’d rather have Rock back.
90% of the hosts comic duties happen in the first 15 minutes of the show. Tuning in an hour in isn’t a credible way to judge how well he did, or didn’t do.
I gotta wonder how all those professionals feel about attending an event where they’re supposed to be honored for outstanding achievement, and they get a lame roast instead.
I get that the audience – at home and in the venue – want to be entertained. But I don’t quite understand poking fun at them. It demeans the experience, for everyone. And they’ve already been poked at the Golden Globes.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t let these people take themselves too seriously. But on the other other hand, when you work for months to put out a high quality product, would some respect be too much to ask?
Make some jokes in the opening monologue, put together something creative to introduce the movies, and leave the ribbing for another time and place. Almost four hours of strained humor – they could do better.
He was funnier earlier so it cancels out his unfunny later? The host of a long awards show needs to do a good job for the whole show; Seth doesn’t have the chops yet. His performance isn’t something quantifiable you can pour into a beaker and see how it adds up.
You have your opinion, I have mine. It’s what makes life interesting.
I was thinking that, compared to previous hosts, Seth was remarkably respectful to the audience. I’m trying to think who he poked fun of. The Kardashians? Oh I just remembered that swipe he made at George Clooney about little Q being 16 years too young for him.
If you stretch it, he made a joke about women giving themselves the flu to lose weight - that was sort of directed at everyone I guess. What jokes did you have in mind that were poking fun of people?
Seriously, Billy Crystal poked fun at more people every time he hosted.
There was another “women are impossible” joke about Jessica Chastain’s character, something about women won’t take no for an answer. There was also the standard Jews run Hollywood joke. Nothing obnoxious, just not funny, because we’ve heard it all before.
It’s not just Seth. It’s all the hosts over the past however-many years. It’s gotten to be all about making fun of the industry. There are only so many jokes you can make about Hollywood. By now, they’ve all been made, so if a host wants to be original, he almost has to go too far. That means he’ll be offensive or he’ll tell the same joke, just substituting a contemporary actor for one from the 70’s – George Clooney for Peter O’Toole.
Maybe I’m just getting old.
I liked him well enough, but there were a few issues. We also remarked on the occasional bad timing and found several jokes to be painfully unfunny. And, as previously noted, he seemed to run out of steam. By the mid-way point, he almost seemed to just be a presenter. And I really hated that closing song.
On the positive side, I adored the boob song and also thought the sock puppet sequence was awesome. He has a nice voice and I very much liked his quasi lounge lizard singing. However, from the various entertainment sites I visit (usually mostly populated by women), it appears he wasn’t liked or appreciated. So, I fear that means he won’t be back. Which is a shame, because no new host is every going to hit their stride if they only have one shot. No one probably felt Johnny was beloved on his initial foray.
I gotta say though, he does have an Uncanny Valley look to him. Kinda oogy.
What was the joke and what was Affleck’s swipe back?
MacFarlane said something about Affleck being hairier than the Kardashians (the “I thought we cut this joke” joke I mentioned earlier) and Affleck said something like “I actually thought you were doing a good job, Seth, but I bet you can turn it around.” It was churlish but I’ll give Affleck a pass. He was obviously very tense.
I thought the show was very uneven; some of it was good but some of the awkward parts were cringe-worthy.
I turned the TV off before it was over and I can’t remember the last time I didn’t watch the Oscar’s.
Well, he was better than Letterman or Rock, but just barely, so still in the Bad column for me. When you hire someone like him, you’re entitled to expect some new and different energy, but it was mostly the same Look How Gay Liberal Jewish Vain We Are Hollywood shtick, but just not presented as well.
The sock puppets were inspired and very funny. The Von Trapp Family Singers was probably the best live action Family Guy gag ever done. A perfect in-joke that everyone in the crowd would get.
But the rest was pretty bleak, especially the He Protests Too Much Star Trek opening. And you know what hurt even more? All the presenters were pretty horrible, too. Usually, you could rely on a Will Ferrell or Jack Black or (going farther back) Steve Martin to have a really short, brilliant category intro. Last night? It was a wasteland.
That’s what Johnny and Billy (at his peak) were good at–adding some much-needed energy and wit when things were flagging. Seth was most out-of-his-element when you could tell everything else was sucking, too, because he had nothing except what had been rehearsed.
I don’t like his shows much but I’ve enjoyed the interviews I’ve seen and read so don’t hold any ill will toward him. But I hope he doesn’t do it again.