Funny the World...

"Totally Tacky and I Loved It!"

March 27, 2000

"Totally tacky...and I love it." I still remember Woody (Robert Wood, of The Lamplighters) said that about The Thornbirds, which we'd both just read. Was there ever anything more appropriate for The Oscars? I just love that show. I've been watching it since we first got a TV, when I was 10 years old. I love it when it's good and I love it when it's awful.

This was the first Oscars in many years without Paul and I had a few "Paul moments," especially when performers got up and thanked their parents, and especially their mothers. I always told Paul that I expected him to get to an awards show some day and to thank his loving mother from the stage. Who would have known it would be me standing up accepting my own writing award just a few weeks after his death, and dedicating the award to Paul's memory. Sometimes life sucks. Parents aren't supposed to bury kids, they tell me. Couldn't prove it by me. We've buried two.

However, back to the Oscars, as usual, it was tacky and fun, though with even Cher dressing "like a grown up," there was little to make fun of in the attire. But there were the lump in the throat moments, like Michael Caine winning best supporting Oscar. In truth, I would absolutely have loved to see the award to to Haley Joel Osment. The kid was fantastic in Sixth Sense, but it did tug at the heartstrings to watch Caine's acceptance speech.

And I love the retrospectives. Fun that not one, but two Judy Garland movies were included in the look back at well known music from movies (and where was Merman, Steve? Hmmmm???) I also don't want to talk to Ned tomorrow, as I know he will be upset that "Blame Canada" didn't get best song.

But the most notable thing about this year's Oscars, I thought, was that Best Actress went to a Hilary Swank, playing a role that would have been unthinkable in a mainstream movie just a few years ago. And American Beauty has homosexuality and homophobia as a big part of its story, and could that also have been portrayed the way it was three years ago? Maybe there's hope for the world after all.

Paul and I always compared notes and ragged on the Oscars the next day. I'll miss that tomorrow... Good thing I'm not going to be home anyway.

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created 3/27/00 by Bev Sykes