Monday, March 03, 2014

Oscar Party!

Last night I held an Oscar party at my house and it was crazy fun. As I've said in the past (talking about my very elaborate Oscar parties pre-children), I kind of hate the Oscars, but watching it with others makes it more fun. And when you have money riding on a pot, even the most banal categories become exciting.

I thought Ellen Degeneres was fun and down-to-earth, even if the pizza stuff went on a little long, and after 11 o'clock, we just needed it to WRAP UP. But just as much fun was the banter in our room, and how much fun we were having anticipating what the speeches would bring and talking about what was happening on stage.

This year I made the party potluck, and asked guests to bring food that they had to name. Then we realized how sucky the nominees were when it came to naming foods. And since I didn't think anyone would want to eat Blue Jasmine Rice, I went with American Hummus (after I threw out the name Hummus Eater's Club. Seriously... terrible). And I made Judi Punch. And then we had so much food I didn't get to bring out my Jared Tacos, which I thought had the best name! The party had a Great Dipsby from my friend Sue, which was a GREAT name, and when my friend Jeannette couldn't find rye or pumpernickel for her spinach dip, she had to walk around the store to try to find something else to use for it... so her dish was called "12 Minutes to Decide." Heehee! The "30 Seconds to Mars Bar Cake" might have been the best sweet thing I've tasted this week... no, month. But to outdo everyone, my cousin Andrew's wife Kelsey showed up with the most fantabulous hors d'oeuvres AND homemade cards she'd made to put with them:


How amazing is that?! (And by the way, those mushroom caps were to die for. I ate too many of them. Along with Amanda's mini caprese skewers. I think I'll subsist on water today and the leftover fruit that Ashlie brought. Sadly, everyone ate Brent's chicken wings so there are none of those left.) As my friend Jeannette and I always say when making a Pinterest joke, "NAILED IT!!" And this time we didn't mean that sarcastically. ;)

Highlights:

  • When Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor, my friend Dan joked that he should get up and say, "Alright, alright, alright" in the same intonation as he did in Dazed and Confused. And after a long ramble about how you make heroes, he held up the Oscar and DID JUST THAT. Our room went nuts. 
  • Jordan Catalano winning an OSCAR!!! And then thanking his mom. Seriously, awwwww.
  • We decided to tally up how many people were going to mention the Ukraine, and who was going to mention it first. Answer: the very first winner (Leto) mentioned it, and then NO ONE mentioned it after. Not even Bono. 
  • Of course, once we mentioned the Ukraine it was moments before someone mentioned Crimea — WAIT FOR IT — River.
  • Ellen's opening mention of Liza Minnelli, saying that she'd just spotted in the audience the best Liza Minnelli impersonator she's ever seen, and added, "Sir, you did a great job." Although Liza actually looked rather offended, so maybe it was a little less funny. 
  • Karen O doing "The Moon Song" from Her. (If you haven't yet seen Her, GO SEE IT. Fantastic film. I can't stop thinking about it.) 
  • When the camera flashed quickly to Mads Mikkelsen in the audience. Gaaaaaahhhh!!!
  • FINALLY convincing the audience not to clap along with the In Memoriam bit, as if there's a popularity contest among the dead.

Low points:
  • Me not winning the pot. Jeannette and Ashlie, you are in my sights. I will SO get you next year!
  • Mads Mikkelsen not being put in the front row. If my friend Sue and I were the ones putting butts in seats, he'd be front and centre. And he'd present every award.
  • Having to get the kids out of bed this morning after they both insisted on staying up for part of the show.
Awkward moment:
  • Cate Blanchett thanked Woody Allen and the clapping from the audience was tepid and reserved. And then Matthew McConaughey mentioned how important God was to him and God appeared to receive fewer claps than Woody. Yikes.

I saw so many of the nominated films this year — more than in recent memory — but I still haven't seen Blue Jasmine or Dallas Buyer's Club, and I worried that would leave a major hole in my viewing. I shall now make it my mission to see both in the next little bit. 

Did you watch the Oscars? What did you think?

9 comments:

Justin Mohareb said...

Ah, dammit, I missed the Oscars.

yourblindspot said...

It doesn't seem so long ago that, should you have told me Jared Leto would win an Oscar before Claire Danes, I would have slapped you for heresy.

Rebecca T. said...

I don't really care that much about the Oscars per se, but, as you said, watching it with friends makes it worth it. This is the second year our book club has scheduled our meeting on Oscar night so we can watch it together, snark over dresses, and lament the things that aren't nominated/winners that should have been :)

I enjoyed it this year more than I thought I would!

Anonymous said...

Watched 30 minutes of the oscars but then Nessa demanded that we watch Ep 7 of True Detective. Can't disappoint my little girl! At the end of the episode, flipped it back over to see Degeneres taking selfies in the audience, and was very happy with our decision. :)

SenexMacdonald said...

This is my tradition every year. I don't care about the stuff before; just what happens during. I had a great time watching it and enjoyed Ellen as the host,

Page48 said...

-John Travolta...WTF?? Adele Dazeem? Yeah, I know, I never heard tell of that Idina chick either, but I would have rehearsed at least once

-U2: What the hell happened to you guys? You used to be good.

-Never heard of any of the nominated songs.

-Pink is the highlight of any and all awards shows

-Every time I see Jennifer Garner, I weep for her career, especially in light of Bradley Cooper's relative success

-Ellen was fine. It's hard to NOT like her, but the pizza gag was time that I'll never get back

-"Gravity" is the only nominated movie that I've seen

-Jamie Foxx should be excused from presenting any award

-my much younger self is in love with Jennifer Lawrence

-Jessica Biel has Sydney Bristow arms.

-if it wasn't for "the hat", I wouldn't have a clue who Pharell Williams is

Nikki Stafford said...

I forgot to mention another highlight: my friend Jason (he of the fabulous Mars Bar cake) implemented this demented system for his ballot, something to do with working through it alphabetically. The winning ballot had 28 points; his had 3. It was one of the absolute highlights of the evening for me. ;)

Colleen/redeem147 said...

I thought Oscar looked a lot like Darryl. Oscar shoots a mean crossbow!

stevenjared0853 said...

Hey!! Great to know about this Oscar party. Had been to an opening ceremony of a salon at one of Chicago event venues. Many celebs were also invited there. Everything was arranged amazingly. Really enjoyed the day.