Ratings for last night's Oscars seem to be up a bit over the last few years. That oughta make the folks at ABC happy because they probably felt they had an uninteresting batch of nominations this year, and that the average viewer out there really didn't care that much if Clint beat Martin or if Hilary beat Kate. There was no blockbuster, high-grossing film in competition or no backstory that might yield some great emotional moment. The only real suspense was whether Chris Rock would spin wildly out of control, which may have been why that possibility was hyped as much as it was. As I said, I thought Rock did a decent job, though I'm guessing he won't be asked back for quite a while. He may have exhausted his value just by not saying something that outraged America and caused the Kodak Theater to implode.
Reading Internet forums this morn, I sense a bit of disappointment that nothing that memorable occurred — no wildly ridiculous outfits, no over-the-top political moments, no tearful meltdowns from the winners, no gasping surprise when some envelope was opened. Who would have thought Chris Rock would preside over one of the safest Oscar ceremonies in recent memory?