In Praise of Billy Crystal
Crystal hosted the Oscars in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004, according to Wikipedia.
But here he is making fun of Titanic. And Ben and Matt! Matt! And Ben! But you know, those days are mostly gone but it’s worth a click to see Minny Driver’s horrified face.
I hear a lot of complaining about Billy Crystal and about how these are going to be the lowest rated Oscars ever. Well, yes and no. Probably they will be after the first hour. The red carpet is sure to get a lot of viewers – Brad and Angelina, George and Stacy – it’s just like the prom! ABC is doing what it can, showing Natalie Portman accepting her Oscar from last year and talking up the Brad Pitt angle. Billy Crystal is seen here and there. Here’s the thing people forget about Billy Crystal, though: he’s fucking funny. I don’t care how old he is, the dude’s funny. Moreover, Crystal’s schtick at the Oscars are the only things people even remember about the Oscars at all.
I’ve watched a lot of Oscar shows, by god. I have always believed no one did it better than Billy in my lifetime anyway. Although Steve Martin, David Letterman and Jon Stewart were all great, only Billy Crystal has the ability to be funny, to keep the whole thing moving, and to make the medicine go down a lot more easily. I, for one, am glad to be able to see him again. I hope he kills it.
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People love to complain (Present company accepted.) I can understand the criticisms leveled at hiring Billy Crystal again, but at this point, he’ll be the least of the show’s problems. He’s great! And in the end, if you have a comedian who can make it work (a la Stephen Fry at the BAFTAs), it’ll be an enjoyable few hours at least.
Agreed. Billy Crystal is pretty much the only thing I’m looking forward to. I just hope those boring nominees give him enough material to work with.
The nine movies nominated for the best picture Oscar all skewer towards an older demographic. That is the viewership challenge not so much Billy Crystal. If the youth have not watched most of the films then why would they tune in beyond a point? Harry Potter should have gotten best picture nominations.
I suspect that the only movie people below 30 watched in decent numbers would have been Moneyball. When I saw The Descendants there were youthful George Clooney fans complaining that the film was slow moving. Of course these are the same silly people who complain that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was too clever and difficult. They prefer Mission Impossible 4. OMG!
Last year was very different. The Kings Speech, The Social Network, Black Swan were dug by everybody including the youth.
I always found Whoopi Goldberg great and my favorite of all time
Tne BEST of all time was Johnny Carson–devilish impromptu wit.
Anyway, I have never liked the way Billy tipped the hand of the Academy when he came out representing or dressed like the obvious winner.
Same thing with Goldberg–did anyone NOT think that Shakepeare in Love was NOT going to win when she first came out in that Elizabethan getup?
I’m not gonna lie, my favorite Oscar host (at least in the last 15 years of my watching them) is Jon Stewart. Both of his appearances rank as some of the funniest hosting of any awards show. And bringing Marketa Irglova back on stage to get a chance to give her remarkable speech after the music played her off was one of my favorite moments in Oscar history.
I think Billy Crystal has always been a great host, but I’m still deeply resentful of the comments he made to the AP last year about cutting some of the smaller awards from the telecast. Fuck that, and shame on him for suggesting it.
The below the line categories have enough time getting noticed. Hell, half of the general public probably has no idea who they even are or what they do. The Oscars is the ONLY time of the year when someone like a sound editor or makeup artist can go on national television and accept an award from their peers that praises their work.
For Billy Crystal to say we should cut them out to make room for more comedy and dance numbers, I will not forgive him any time soon.
It’s (Crystal) clear that Billy is a great host, but Hugh is the right (Jack)man for the job.
Agreed! Crystal has also been my favorite over the last 25 years or so. Am I the only one on the planet who really liked Ellen five years ago though?
I agree Sasha- Billy is the best we’ve had for quite a while. A friend described him years ago saying “he wears well”, meaning he is a reliably funny and welcome performer. Ellen & Steve Martin were both pretty good. I’d like the Academy to give Steve Martin another try, but as a solo host. (I believe he’s done it twice now- once with Baldwin). I still think he has it in him to do a very good job. A few years ago when the Emmys were lumbering along, Steve came out and everyone just breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. It was very telling. He has the wit- I say- give Steve another chance!
I agree that Cyrstal is a great host and I am very happy he’s back.
That said, I still think it will be one of the lowest rated Oscars in recent memories – no one cares about these movies and the level of discontent amongst those of us that do care seems higher than normal.
I honestly thing this is a going to disaster ratings-wise.
Billy Crystal is Scott Hatteberg.
am I alone in thinking that Chris Rock was very funny the year he hosted? Edgy and courageous humour.
Crystal was fine in the 1990s but his humor is getting old. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt this year – after all, he gets credit for saving the day when Eddie Murphy cancelled.
My favorite host – like Brian above – is Johnny Carson. And as much as I disliked Bob Hope’s conservative politics, he was a natural at the Oscars.
Crystal was OK. He’s like the David Letterman of TV show hosts, very safe and pandering to an older crowd but he is still very funny at points.
If Oscars want their ratings to go up there’s only one host to really consider though. Ricky Gervais. Best host ever.
“Although Steve Martin, David Letterman and Jon Stewart were all great”
Uhm, yeah. Steve and Jon have always been wonderful, but Letterman? He was atrocious. UMA! OPRAH! UMA! OPRAH!
Billy is pure charm and the greatest host ever, imho. The legendary Bob Hope is probably the only one that I can think is better than Billy. Does anyway know if he’s going to do one of his (in)famous Best Picture Medleys? I mean, Billy singing about Clooney? I WANT TO HEAR THAT!!!
I’m sure he will.
Agreed! I look forward to his songs about the nominees.
I don’t agree much with you, but I absolutely am behind this one, 100%!
@Tobias: No, you’re not. He literally ‘rocked’ that evening with his humor and gosh, he was great.
How the hell can I forget about Hugh Jackman? Probably the most memorable evening in Oscar history (except for the winners :S)
I’m not against Crystal himself, who is funny, but choosing him again, intentionally or not, symbolizes well the state of mind of the Academy this year: let’s all go back ot the past, when everything was safer, funnier and nicer, and this young people didn’t bottered us as much.
My dream Oscar host would be Louis C.K. But I’d settle for Bill Murray or RDJ.
I’m 24, so maybe I don’t quite “get” Crystal.
I do know that the self aware, tongue-in-cheek, “look how wacky I am” performance by Hugh Jackman did not work for me. I highly doubt it will work for me with Billy.
Are people morons?? Billy Crystal will be the SAVING GRACE of this year’s telecast. The problems with the Academy Awards have nothing to do with Billy, and newsflash, he’ll probably still be better than Eddie Murphy would have been. I’m sure he can do something fun with The Artist, too.
re: The Dude.
Yes to Louis CK. My God, that would be epic. And I agree with Tobias, I don’t think Chris Rock (or Jon Stewart) was nearly as bad as the media consensus claimed it to be. Alas, a generational difference.
You people are nuts. There’s a difference between feeling frustrated that The Artist – an unoriginal, low-grossing silent black-and-white movie with little scope or heft – is winning Best Picture and complaining that the Academy is going back to the past by having Billy Crystal host. These are two entirely separate emotions. They do not go hand in hand.
Louis C.K. – oh, yeah, that’ll bring in the ratings. Me love Kathy Griffin, but even she’s not big enough to host the Oscars. It’s supposed to be a movie star. A showman. Don’t criticize the Academy for one of the few things it has done right this year. Sometimes it’s right to go back to the past. Bob Hope hosted several times over the course of a few decades. Nobody complained then either.
I love Billy Crystal – my favourite of the Oscar hosts (Bob Hope was before my time). Criticisms of his age, or the fact that he is a return to the old, are nonsense. A bevvy of writers will provide his ‘shtick’, and he will be witty, warm, funny and genial, with a hint of poking fun at those in the auditorium. He is the beST choice. Going ‘young’ last year was a monumental failure. It’s been a while since Billy has been on board. Looking forward to his return.
Bill Murray and Louis CK are two of the most bitchin’ entertainers on the planet but part of their charm comes from a surliness that doesn’t really gel with the tenor of the Oscars. Crystal’s funny, witty, pleasant…He’s not edgy but Chris Rock didn’t exactly wow viewers because hosts are muzzled a bit. Crystal can do his thing without having to alter his persona.
I can pretty much write Billy Crystal’s opening act for him.
*Open Curtain*
- Cue black and white camera, with subtitles, whilst Billy Crystal sings a ditty with a large “war horse” pretending to be Ugi *winks to crowd*
- Rips off his Parisian garb, cue the color screen, only to reveal Billy’s Hawaiian shirt. Sings about Hawaii and makes an Obama birth certificate joke, only to determine that Obama is actually a British Cold War era spy “winks to crowd (x4)”
- etc. etc.
Since Bob Hope is not available,I’ll take Billy Crystal any day.
Hugh Jackman was the best host of the last years and my 2nd favorite. I just loved Whoopi Goldberg as the host. But I really don`t care about the host since the “material“ of the year is great (2011 isn`t, so…).
Meh, he’s no Stephen Fry but he’ll do.
jon stewart was great. add colbert and you have yourself a great oscar night to look forward to.
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