Why Chris Rock was the best Academy Awards host ever

Well, I sat through the last half of the Oscars last night. I didn't give a crap about any of the movies (well, except for Walk the Line... which was pretty good, but definitely not worthy of an Oscar win). I was more interested in seeing what John Stewart of the Daily Show would be saying to piss off Hollywood. I was ecstatic, hoping he had already made them horribly uncomfortable by simply telling them the truth (that is, by telling them that nobody takes them as seriously as they do by just telling a few jokes about them).

Apparently, he did receive a cold reception from the Hollywood "Pantheon".

But I wasn't satisfied.

I've heard mixed reviews, some of the Showbiz elite complimenting him, while others condemning him. But overall, he could have done so much more with the opportunity he was presented. I was hoping to see the sharp-witted Jon Stewart I see every night on the Daily Show ripping in to the problems of this country with the sharp blade of wit and satire. Instead, I found a watered down version of my favorite comedian/pundit, landing what appeared to be pulled punches. Oddly enough, even the pulled punches were more than too much for the horribly frail senses of humor among the spoiled stars, as they froze him out with silence save for the few who actually still had a sense of humor about themselves.

But still, though blows were landed and the spoiled children we call "stars" briefly had to deal with someone who did not take them as seriously as they did, I was still not satisfied at the end of it all.

Why?

I don't think Stewart went far enough.

I tuned in not to see pulled punches, but landed blows on artificial noses. I did not want to see an uncomfortable silence after every joke, but a hostile silence. I wanted to see the same biting anti-establishmentarianism on the Oscars that I saw every night on the Daily Show.

In other words, I was hoping he could actually top Chris Rock.

Chris Rock is, by far, my all-time favorite Oscar host. He seized the opportunity presented to him to slap the Hollywood "Pantheon" upside it's head and used it for all it was worth. He went ahead and mocked Sean Penn. He cracked all sorts of jokes about the various odd habits of the stars. But the best part was when he showed a video loaded with brief interviews with the everyday moviegoer. Hardly any of them had actually watched the movies up for the best picture award that year. Instead, they had all gone to see Harry Potter or Saw. The audience was silent. The point had been made. They were not as important to their "adoring audience", much less the rest of the world, as they thought they were. Chris didn't let them leave without facing that truth.

And I so desperately wish Jon Stewart had done the same.

Movies are powerful vehicles for story telling. They can inspire us to great heights, they can teach us deep truths, and they can anger us in to action. But first and foremost, they are designed to entertain us. Nothing more, nothing less. And an audience that is not entertained will not long be an audience at all. Stars often forget that the average moviegoer is not interested in what they have to say about the way the world works. The average moviegoer just cares about them long enough to be entertained by them. Once the movie's over and the lights come on, they go back in to the real world and face their daily problems. Stars don't seem to understand that any more. They just can't leave their work in the theatres. They've become convinced, not just that they have to make a difference, but that they are making a difference in the world around them, even when the majority of the moviegoing public has absolutely no idea what the hell kind of difference they're talking about.

Throughout the ceremony last night, I heard Oscar recipients drone on and on about how the movies this year were truly something special, and that through them Hollywood continues to have a huge impact on culture and society.

Oh, really? That's a shame.

I mean, it's a shame that they still think that. It's a real, true shame that they're so full of self-importance that they can't even laugh at themselves for one night. Or that they continue to make and reward pretentious films that the average moviegoing public doesn't care about.

But more than that, it's a shame that Jon Stewart, a man I believe actually does have his head screwed on in the right direction and who has a legitimate influence on the younger generation in this country, didn't remind the self-absorbed stars that no one cares about what they think, say, or do outside of Hollywood.

**Brief Edit**

Just to clarify:

I'm not saying I don't like Jon Stewart or anything like that. In fact, I'm a huge fan of his, and he's one of my all-time favorite entertainers. I'm just saying I wish he would have pressed the "shiny red button", so to speak. ;)