Wow, look what Ebert said about Jon Stewart:

[EC]

"Throughout the show, Stewart's one-liners and zingers were perfectly timed and almost always on target. After one of the packages of classic clips: "I can't wait for the tribute to Oscar's greatest montages!" After all of the speculation about the selection of Stewart as a host, his performance deserves perhaps the highest tribute: He was as relaxed, amusing and at home as Johnny Carson. The assignment is his again in future years, and in one night he positioned himself as the likely heir of a major late-night network talk slot.



http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OSCARS/60306001



We'll see which review of Jon's performance wins out....

[mattclearing]

1. The corporate media wants to make Jon out as a flop

Because the Daily Show has been the only news show to consistently do its job over the past few years.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. The irony is that his show was never intended to be a news show.

[havocmom]

18. Worse irony: the 'real news' is the biggest joke of all

Which is why 'fake news' is more spot on. It's a strange world.

[JudyM]

35. Agreed - it's like Jon says sometimes: "You can't make this stuff up!" n/t

[Warpy]

12. The problem seems to be the crowd he was presenting to

not the corporate media. Check this article out, it says volumes about just who Hollywood wants to host the awards:

Instructing the audience to not pirate films, Stewart referred to the rich and lavishly dressed audience and said, "These are the people you're stealing from." Those people did not find his remark funny.

As with many of Stewart's lines, the laughter for these jokes was mostly distant, perhaps coming from the high balconies, far away from the celebrities. When we saw the faces of the stars, they were blank, or awkwardly smiling, perhaps pretending to chuckle.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11687022/

(hint: not an outsider)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

15. Who chose the camera shots of the audience?....

...Does that help you understand what was going on?

[EC]

19. I think the nominees all looked like they were going to be

sick and probabley weren't even listening....but I saw alot of people laughing...

[mattclearing]

24. They did laugh at the next line...

"These women could barely afford enough gown to cover their breasts."

But yeah, I said that it was a tough crowd watching it...they were unamused.

[Lisa]

46. it was a pretty feeble laugh, though ... which was too bad

Because that was quite a funny line. I couldn't help remembering it when I opened the newspaper and saw the cleavage shots in the Entertainment section today! And it did confirm what I'd been suspecting -- the audience was not that receptive. (Jon's own audiences tend to be faster on the uptake and livelier, so yelling "Settle!" at them is part of his thing.)

So, kudos to Jon for hanging in there. I'm not a comedian, but I do teach in large auditoriums, and an unexpected audience reaction (or lack of it) can be quite disconcerting. His ability to recover quickly -- and insert on-the-fly quips like the one about the Best Song winners -- shows he can think on his feet.

[Kber]

31. Like after the montage of "important films" that tackled difficult issues

Jon remarked "and none of those things were ever a problem again.

Received like a lead balloon by the live audience, but I'm still chuckling.

[cascadiance]

33. I certainly didn't miss that line!

Both I and Mom sitting next to me thought that was a VERY good dig at the current administration and its drones repeating all of the same horrid mistakes of the past!

[Lisa]

47. it was a classic!

It certainly deflated the self-congratulatory air that can make the Oscars seem so pretentious and unreal. I bet that some of the more traditional Academy members were annoyed ... but the independent filmmakers were probably laughing. Ouch!

[YOY]

26. They're just afraid of the liberal media

Which of course is really just Jon and a handfull of others...most of which aren't even real journalists but entertainers...then again so are many of the so called mainstream journalists.

However, unlike most mainstream journalists, Jon fully admits to being just an entertainer.

[ChiciB1]

2. He's Right On!!

I thought he was SUPERB!

Screw the rest of the commentators if they should have a problem!!

[kma3346]

3. Rate Stewart's performance

If you want to let the people in charge of the Oscars know how you feel about Stewart's performance, email them at

http://www.oscars.org/contact/general.html

I agree with Ebert and I just emailed the Oscar people to tell them so!!

:thumbsup:

[Mabus]

34. Thanks for the link - here's my e-mail to them.

I'm not a fan of award shows. I've been to Oscar parties over the years but have always managed to avoid watching them for very long. When I heard Jon Stewart would be hosting the Oscars my first thought was "I love Jon Stewart but I can't watch that drivel". Well, I tuned in last night. I figured I'd watch the beginning and then wait for clips to show up on-line but I was hooked. Stewart was hysterical. Colbert's pieces were magnificent. If Stewart is primarily responsible for the content this year, and I suspect he is, then you'd being doing yourselves a favor to get him again for next year.

I can't believe I'm typing this but, I actually enjoyed watching the Oscars. I'm embarrassed to admit that I watched the whole damned show. Stewart was calm, cool and collected. He was personable and he talked to the audience - not just the audience in attendance but the American people. He personalized the Oscars and made it accessible. He minimized the "insider jokes" that turned me off the Oscars so years ago.

I'd like a response only to know if Stewart will host again next year. If he does, I'll hold an Oscar party. If he doesn't, well, I guess I'm back to watching college basketball games.

[qanda]

4. I absolutely agree with him

And Jon will be on Oprah today, so it will be interesting to see what she has to say. Her word will hold more weight than the journalists who have close to zero credibility with the American public.

[hippiechick]

5. I thought the whole thing was boring.

Nobody was jazzed, except for the 3-6 Mafia.

[tatertop]

11. I have to agree with you. That was one boring show.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. How much of the show did you watch?

[tatertop]

23. Just over half.

I thought Stewart was trying to be 'on' all the time.
It got tiresome. The movie scores were the
worst I have heard in years; I cannot hum one of those songs
from memory.

I definitely don't want to see a rap song, introduced
by a Bush supporting idiot, win best song award.
(The exception being a song the calibre of the theme from Eight Mile.)
The introduction was nonsense and the song was awful.

Clooney was the highlight.
I missed Depp.

If you enjoyed it, great.
To each their own.

[hippiechick]

25. The. Whole. Thing.

:yawn: Interspersed with flips over to CSI, which unfortunately was a repeat, and Sherlock Holmes on PBS, which was apparently also a repeat. :(

[JudyM]

36. The worst was that Ben Stiller green unitard bit. Spielberg grimaced

when Jon said someting to him about it. I can see why. These are arguably the best entertainers in the business and they can't put together a solid show? I love Jon but I thought it was pretty weak. Gotta say they audience was pretty lukewarm, though, too.

[begin_within]

40. The best part of the idiotic "green suit" bit was, after Ben Stiller said,

"This is blowing Spielberg's mind!," they immediately cut to a shot of Spielberg in the audience and you could clearly see him saying, "No, it's not."

[emdee]

6. I thoroughly enjoyed his show....

and saw most of the audience laughing along with me. I wonder if they've done to Jon Stewart what they did to Howard Dean with the scream. Dean says they removed all of the audience noise so that his scream would seem out of place and odd. I wonder if they've removed some of the audience laughter and only focused on the solemn faces to make Jon look bad? I thought he was great and had the feeling that the audience felt so too!
emdee

[qanda]

8. EMDEE!!!!! What's up, girl!!

I miss you.

[emdee]

37. Qanda...

pbl, how are you? I've been wondering how you are. I've just been at Veg here and there lately. I don't seem to have the time right now for the long drawn-out discussions and expectations for over there. I miss you too, friend. It seems that when I'm at Veg, you're not and vise-versa.

My dad's treatments have left him very weak and immobile at the moment. The doctor has stopped chemo for the next four weeks and will reevaluate then. My sister, thankfully, has moved on for now. I had to "write her off" which is much easier said than done but her antics could not be tolerated after the cancer diagnosis. My daughter and husband are doing very well - still putting up with me! LOL

How's your family? It is so good to see you!
emdee

[qanda]

44. I've been sick for the past month or so

I wrote a little about it over at the Hillary site. I'll send you an email and let you know more about it. I'm sorry to hear about your dad, I think of him and you often. I hope he regains his strength soon. I'm glad everything else seems to being going fairly well. Hope to talk to you soon.

[emdee]

45. Please email!!

We need to stay in touch.
emdee

[jasmeel]

29. I really enjoyed it as well. I don't think I've watched the whole

AAs in years. It was great to see Stewarts humor on display like that. I especially liked the fake attack ads towards award contenders, obviously written and produced by Daily Show writers-hilarious!!

[emdee]

39. Those (the attack ads) were hilarious....

and drove the message home, too. I think it was a great idea to show that type of tactic in another venue to show just how silly and tacky it is getting to be. If that were the mode of interaction and debate in any other avenue of our lives, we wouldn't allow it. I hope this sky-rockets Stewart's career!!
emdee

[SaveElmer]

9. I agree...

He was spot on in my opinion!!!

[NYCGirl]

10. I agree, and interestingly, in Slate's obit of Carson, the writer

mentions Jon Stewart:

(The only current host with the speed and agility of Carson in his prime is Jon Stewart, who goes politically where Carson feared to tread.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2112604/

[CatWoman]

14. "Judy Dench took my eye out at a bar".

"Judy Dench is no lady" :rofl:

[EC]

16. I liked when he asked if they could bring Democracy to

Hollywood by pulling down the statue and hitting it with shoes....

[TomInTib]

17. That was hilarious...

the whole "dame" segment was just too fine.

[BlueEyedSon]

20. Funnyest Oscars show EVER! Clooneys acceptance speech was good too....

[Rainscents]

21. Email sent!

Jon was great last night!

[kstewart33]

22. I'm glad Ebert recognized his performance.

We watched the Oscars last night for the first time in years just to see how Jon Stewart would do, and my family thought he did really well. I was surprised to read some bad reviews; I thought his comedy was clever, funny and well delivered.

He looked very much at home. I hope he does it again.

[sadiesworld]

27. Mixed feelings here.

I really wasn't too impressed with the "campaign" skit where the older couple were complaining about the all of the "foreign-sounding" actress names. Unfortunately, it was pretty typical. Let's face it, the movies as a whole were basically a liberal showcase and Stewart pretty much equated Hollywood with the Democratic Party w/i two minutes of taking the stage. Did we really NEED additional ways to tee off moderates and conservatives?

I'm involved in politics b/c I believe we desperately need change in leadership, not to irritate people so much that they continue to vote for the same people I want to see (and spend time and $ to see) GONE.

I mean what happens this fall? I'm going to be working some phone bank tring to convince middle America that the Dems are NOT Hollywood and the Dems actually CARE about the issues that affect THEIR lives? Whatever.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

28. It was the audience that sucked, not Jon

A palpable air of "Prove you deserve to present our awards, monkey boy."

"Glamour" is an outdated concept made desperate by its denial of reality, and dirty by its transparent effort to move product. The Oscars is an outdated ceremony that needs a presenter like Stewart to give it any relevancy at all.

[LisaLynne]

30. Jon did a great job, IMHO.

He was relaxed, confident and funny, all the while knowing it wasn't all about him. I personally think it SHOULD be all about him, but that's a different story! Anyway, I was surprised to see how many people were disappointed and it seems as though the corporate media has some stake in wanting it to be seen as a failure. I suppose the Daily Show has shown them up as the worthless butt-kissers that they are one too many times and now they have a little grudge.

I understand if people thought the ceremony was boring, but IMHO, it's ALWAYS boring. Jon was at least entertaining when he was talking.

[LynneSin]

32. Jon did a great job with the boring show that he was given

I mean seriously, there is only so much a comedian can do to liven up that show. I thought Chris Rock did well especially knowing that Chris Rock was reigned in so fricking much that he barely came across as the Chris Rock we know in the movies and comedy specials.

[graywarrior]

38. He's the only reason I actually stayed tuned into that otherwise

boring show. He's a classy guy very similar to Johnny Carson. He's the type of guy you can't take your eyes off. Subtle power.

[Orsino]

41. Salon panned him.

http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/03/06/oscars/

....Somehow, the roaring vacuum of these Oscars even killed the chi of the Golden Boy, our very own Jon Stewart. He began apologizing within 20 minutes, once he realized he'd never get his ankles out of the anaconda.

How ... HOW did Jon Stewart suck so hard?

I think somebody MADE him suck. I think there was some serious Hollywood penitentiary shower-shanghai going down. Somebody stuck Jon Stewart in the tent with Oscar and made him commit unnatural acts of sucking. I don't want to name names, but I think it was probably J.C. Penney himself....

[Shakespeare]

43. eh....that was Cintra Wilson.

She also thinks Camille Paglia is brilliant, so take her review with many large grains of salt.

[barb162]

42. Stewart was GOOD!

[bigwillq]

48. I thought Jon did a great job.

The show was very laid-back and GASP! even fun!