Image Credit: A.M.P.A.S.For 20 years, the Oscars were hosted by comedians, and most of those comedians were Billy Crystal. The awards shook up that format in the last couple of years, first getting song-and-dance-and-everything man Hugh Jackman to host in 2009, then pairing funnyman Steve Martin with actor Alec Baldwin in 2010. Last night’s Oscars featured the biggest departure from formula, with emphasis-on-young actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway MC-ing the ceremony. The hosts clearly decided to go for an Odd Couple-ish chemistry, with Franco looking very reserved while Hathaway redefined bubbly. EW’s Ken Tucker thought they were marvelous — check out his full review of the telecast — but how do you think they did? Vote in our poll after the jump, and then tell us your thoughts on the pair in the comment boards!
More Oscars coverage:
EW’s Oscars Central
Oscars: What you didn’t see on TV
Backstage buzz from Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo, Christian Bale, David Seidler, Lee Unkrich, and Luke Matheny
Oscars 2011: 20 key moments
Oscars 2011: Best and worst style
I did not think they were nearly as bad as everyone is making them out to be. They kept the show going at a somewhat decent pace, the show was ONLY 10 minutes long, and I thought they were serviceable. The way some critics are making it out to be you would think Franco would never be able to act in Hollywood again. It is a little over the top.
I completely agree with you. I don’t understand the utter hatred people are expressing for them. The Oscars are never that exciting as far as hosts go (outside of the opening number).
Not trying to be disrespectful, but how much of the ten minutes was due to Kirk Douglas? That was the most painful part to sit through.
Simple reason why there are negative reviews, Franco was uninterested and Anne was ridiculous with her overenthusiasm trying to compensate. It was not funny at all except for Billy Crystal’s few minutes. Even Roger Ebert wrote this was the worst telecast of the Oscars
This question needs to be answered:
are they producing a TV show or hosting awards for their peers?
As a TV show, it was horrible.
For hosting awards for their peers, the peers seemed to be alright with it.
For the “billions” that watch, though, this was terrible.
Ummmm…Ken Tucker liked it of course. Need I say more?
there was no opening “number” this year, after the video tape piece they just awkwardly stood on stage saying terrible jokes. and did Anne Hathaway have to “wooo!” after everything she announced like a 15year old at a pep rally?
Amen – Beautiful, talented, energetic young stars doing one of the toughest gigs in show business. How many twenty-somethings could do nearly as well or handle that kind of pressure? Good job, guys!
JJ,
These aren’t 6 year olds in a school play. These are professional actors being paid to, and agreeing to, put on a presentation to over a billion people.
The rules DO allow you to be fans of their work onscreen, and you are also allowed to be honest about the show last night: it was terrible.
I think the picture used for this article pretty much sums it up: Anne trying her darndest, James wishing he was anywhere else.
well if roger ebert said it….hahahhahahaha, you jack arse!!!
ITA. I knew everyone would be saying Franco was bored or high, but deadpan is his shtick, and that’s what he did last night. The producers hired him knowing that, and he was a fine foil for the effervescent Hathaway. They spoke lines that were written for them (don’t blame them for tacky jokes – they didn’t make them up). Hiring young, hip hosts isn’t enough – hire young, hip writers too.
Well said. Spot On.
Perfectly summed up my feelings about the broadcast, give these two good material and good things happen.
omg i love u right now! its sooo true all that u said! PRAISE THE LORD SOME PEOPLE HAVE A SENSE
I thought they were “decent”. As in, they got the job done. I don’t think they were horrible but they weren’t Whoopi or Steve. And come on, Billy is not the end all/be all host.
Billy is good, but there have been other good hosts as well. I thought Whoopi did a good job, and I liked Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin last year. The best hosts are the one who can improvise quickly when things start to drag. Neil Patrick Harris has been a great host on other awards shows.
Agreed.
I don’t think they were the problem. The material they were working with stunk, and I doubt they were very involved in writing it.
True. They had no decent material. Also, there were no suprises among the winners or the presenters, so everything just slogged along in a very predictable manner.
But isn’t the ability to improvise part of the job?
i don’t blame hathaway and franco for the snoozefest at all. THAT was was producers doing. the segments were horribly boring with sad art direction and no flow, no themeatic feel, no nothing. and don’t even get me started on the writing. the hosts did their bets with what they had to work with:nothing.
Sums up my feelings perfectly!
I think the criticism is way OTT as well. Anne was charming, if overly enthusiastic. But at least she was trying her hardest. Her problem was that her straight man was too stiff. I think she would’ve been fine if she’d been paired with someone else.
Not the best Oscars I’ve seen. You’re wording of the vote is wrong. I think people that voted they were no Billy Crystal would have liked to have seen Billy Crystal.
And someone should stage an intervention for Ken Tucker. He enjoyed that so must need help!! :-p
What was the point of this? To attrac a younger demographic? It didn’t work. It also wasn’t entertaining. Hathaway can’t smile her way out of a bad idea and the shimmy/shake in her dress in a desperate attempt at being “cute” would’nt have worked for Dakota Fanning because even she’s too old for that. Franco wasn’t present in any capacity and I’m still at a loss as to what the point of the Marilyn Monroe costume was all about. Bring back Snow White and Rob Lowe at least their failure was a whopping entertaining mess where this was just a fizzling misfire.
I like James and Anne as actors but have to agree with JJ. I do think the writers and producers are also to blame for the dull show. With all of the talented writers, comedians, etc out there why are we subject to such a boring Oscars?
She was pretty good, he was pretty bad.
That’s how I feel; she tried to compensate for him.
ITA. It is ridiculous that JF was even asked to host, and he only was b/c of his ABC affiliation with GH. And, Anne…IDK maybe b/c she can sing?
she was way over the top and everything she said was forced. while he seemed kind of out of it and uninterested, i found him hilarious.
She was a “Woooo” girl, he was stiff, the writting was dull.
Anne Hatheway sucked and sucked big time. That God awful whooo everytime got on your nerves. It cheapened the whole oscar presentation. Its not a football or baseball match for heaven’s sake. She has weird eyes that are too big for her face. I don’t like the woman. Bad choice for Oscar presentation. The Oscars this year will go down as the trashiest. What with the whooo girl and the f*** bomber and her stupid grin ugh, ugh
Calling them “bad” is being too kind. They were so bad that I have vowed to never waste my time watching the Oscars again.
And for the record, I am a big fan of Franco and Hathaway as actors. But they were horrible as hosts.
@zak: I have the feeling as you. Will not waste my time watching again, they were trying way to hard to be what ever the heck they were trying to be. Bad production. Yes, I am a fan of the two also, but the show was just horrible to watch.
They are both very good actors. Hosting is a different gig altogether. People like to rag on Ryan Seacrest because he can be a bit cheesy, but he actually makes the job of hosting an event look much easier than it really is.
Totally agree. Thinking on your feet is an underappreciated art. Seacrest is a master at it, even if he is a tool.
I’ve been mentioning to other Pop Culture Pals for years that Ryan Seacrest is very talented at what he does, and it’s true. He does make it look effortless, but it’s a tough, tough gig. Even people that host other shows (Letterman, Stewert, Conan) can tank when taking on an awards show.
I thought SHE was really cute & put in a Herculean effort to make something watchable from the garbage the writers came up with.
Except that Seacrest SUCKED as the host of the Emmys. Even he jokes about how bad he was at it.
So clearly, they’re getting KILLED in the blogs. I’ve been watching the show all my life, and while they were the best, they weren’t the worst. Comics are better. Who knows what his mental status was? She may have been a little too giddy. But basically, the writing was awful and the results too predictable for this to be a truly enjoyable show. It had some highlights, like RDJ and Jude Law. Both of the screenplay winners. Christian Bale. But, nothing’s perfect. We have to live with that.
I agree that it was not only the writing but the results as well. There was only one real upset of the night, and the rest was just dull. I think if Social Network won then people would be talking about that rather than Anne and James.
I absolutely love these two and pretty much every film they’ve been in – BUT -she came across as a perky Pollyanna and he seemed flippant and smug. The odd-couple thing did not work for me.
No, she came off as juvenile (which I didn’t think was possible, since she’s normally so mature, even in “The Princess Diaries”), and he came off as stoned off his @$$. Now we know why Charlie Sheen tweeted him…it wasn’t the Marilyn dress, it was to find out his connection.
The hosts did a good job this year, the show just happened to be an uneventful bore. Nothing really happened.
Exactly. No surprise winners automatically puts the host(s) at a disadvantage. You just can’t please everyone. I thought they did fine.
they were not terrible. but they were also not good. somewhere in the middle
they were terrible
Yea, they’re getting skewered like tg said. But, everybody has an opinion and a platform these days, and the negative opinions are usually more given to pith and venom so they’re easier to notice.
.
Personally, I’d like an option for “She was enjoyable enough, but what the heck was with him?” I know a lot of the criticism leveled at her is that she tried too hard, but perhaps she wouldn’t have had to try so hard if her partner had been better.
It was abysmal and totally not classy at all! Anne did her best, I’ll give her that, but James Franco was just wasteful space. His tacky jokes made me realize how much classier the Oscars used to be when ADULTS hosted and not younger demographic bait such as these two were obviously put in place for. I sincerely hope the A.P.M.A.S. decides to go back to the formula of comedic talents like Billy, Whoopi, and Robin. The Bob Hope bit was funnier than these two could ever imagine to be, and he’s dead!
How old do they have to be to be considered adults? Franco is 30+ and Hathaway is pushing 30. Definitely adults. How old are you?
Whoopi Goldberg was 39 when she hosted the Academy Awards. James Franco is 33. He’s officially been an adult for 15 years. The jokes weren’t writtem by them, but by Bruce Vallanch, who is 63 (the same age as Billy Crystal, btw).
But go ahead, keep thinking that age is the problem.
Bruce Vilanch is horrible and has been for many many years. I can’t believe he can still get jobs any more.
I thought Anne was great. James had no enthusiasm whatsoever. I think Anne should host again next year with Hugh Jackman. They seem to have good chemistry.
And *that* would have been the pair I would have chosen.
ITA!
Abysmal. The worst hosts of ANYTHING in a long, long time.
That said, David Letterman shouldn’t be who they were compared to, as he was nowhere near as bad as they were (nor as bad as people make out), and at least people actually remember some of his bits.
Franco and Hathaway were – sadly – atrocious.
Let me edit this a bit and say: whoever did the writing needs to be fired. Bruce Vilanch (was he there?) and his writers need to go, they failed big time.
Sorry, Thom, but Anne Hathaway and the word ‘atrocous’ can’t co-exist in the same sentence. Impossible.
James Franco tweeted a pic of Bruce Vilanch asleep at his computer during the show. I thought it summed up the Oscars nicely.
I didn’t think David Letterman was that bad either. I would like to see Hugh Jackman either, paired either with Jane Krakowski (since she can sing and do comedy bits & shines in Improvs.) or Tina Fey. These two weren’t hideous or the worst ever, they just weren’t that good. Anne did try to cutesy-poo her way thru it, and Franco just looked totally bored.
James Franco needs sleep. Classic sleep deprived behavior. Sometimes enough is enough and you just need to rest.
Did you see the “green room” interview he did? He was either really tired, or a little stoned, or both. I heard him say something about going to all his classes on the East Coast this week, sounds like he should have cut a few classes and gotten some rest instead!
As part of that “younger demographic” they were trying to go far; I was hopeful and remained open to the possibility of them as hosts. But I agree with a lot of what’s been said already; they were okay, but not great; she was overly bubbly, but maybe she was trying to compensate for him; I am a big Franco fan but was left going “wtf?” what was wrong with him?; and I don’t really blame them, since the writing of the show was unfortunately not that good. Overall, not my favorite Oscars – but I was still smarting over Nolan’s snub and knowing that sadly, Inception didn’t stand a chance next to a classic Oscar film (& perfectly great movie) The King’s Speech; and maybe I was taking it out on the young hosts.