The 87th Academy Awards have come and gone. Neil Patrick Harris promised a magical evening filled with song, dance and A-List affirmations, but did NPH deliver or did Ellen do better?
From the moment that Neil Patrick Harris was selected to take the reigns of the 2015 Oscars from Ellen Degeneres, correlations were drawn and bets were placed as to who would be the best. As the 87th Academy Awards went on, it became quickly evident that NPH had put a tremendous effort creating an event that is part showcase and part spectacle. The question becomes, did it matter?
Let me preface this by saying I am a tremendous and long-time fan of Harris from his days as “Doogie Howser” all the way to his omnipotent presence in the “Harold and Kumar” films and on to his womanizing ways in “How I Met Your Mother.” With that said, the following does not stem from any ill will towards America’s beloved expert thespian, but Ellen was Better!
Why? You might ask. Well, here a few reasons why I think Ellen succeeded where Harris did not.
AMERICA LOVES PIZZA
Pizza’s here!
Pizza makes everything better, and that includes a stuffy Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences accolade-centric event. What a lot of viewers may not know is that the Academy Awards is a day-long event for most of these A-Listers. With that said, food is often scare whereas booze is bountiful. What soaks up a stomach full of bourbon and beer better than a slice of America’s favored delivery food? NOTHING, that’s what!
Pre-meditated or not, when Ellen makes the move to order pizza Live during the 86th Academy Awards, she not only ordered up a slice of Americana, but also tantalized the taste-buds of viewers. Few things make these, at times, larger than life Celebs more human and relatable than watching them gnaw on a cheesy slice of ‘za like the rest of us.
Bonus: Making Brad Pitt play the role of waiter, serving the likes of Meryl Streep and Harrison Ford.
What did NPH do? He had a his Oscar picks locked in a Briefcase under the eyeful watch (no, I don’t mean ‘watchful eye’) of Octavia Spencer… woah, don’t get too crazy now!
FadFact: Given what ABC charges for a 30-second ad during the Oscars, Big Mama’s & Papa’s 180 seconds of on-air pizza peddling was worth an estimated $10.8 million.
AMERICA… no… THE WORLD LOVES SELFIES
Before selfie-queen Kim Kardashian “Broke the Internet,” bearing all her assets for Paper Magazine, Ellen set a Twitter record with the selfie seen around the world. So much celebrity in one snapshot! She set the record for most retweeted tweet of all-time as well becoming the first Twitter user to top 1 million retweets for a single Twitter post. Obama previously held the record with a photo of himself hugging his wife, Michelle, that was posted when he was reelected in November 2012 and was captioned: “Four more years.” That post has been retweeted only 780,000 times… the POTUS has NOTHING on Ellen. Well, Twitter wise anyway.
FADFACT: Lupita Nyong’o, who took home an Academy Award for her performance in “12 Years A Slave” was not the only member of her family to finagle a spot in the famed snapshot. Peter Nyong’o, seen on the far right rocking the thick-framed specs, championed the opportunity for photographic stardom, quite possibly having made himself the most famous photo-bomber in the WORLD!
ELLEN’S GOT THE JOKES THAT AMERICA LOVES
That’s right. Ellen’s tremendous talk-show experience and stand-up comedy background has afforded her the tools for the hosting trade. Although Harris was no James Franco, his Jokes were about as funny as James Franco… I probably should clarify that I don’t think the elder Franco is that funny.
Harris’ corn-ball one-liners and overly produced event took the human contact element away from the whole night. Where Ellen made the accolade heavy Meryl Streep as relatable as the girl next door, Harris turned his stage time into a mini off-broadway show.
So much for Harris’ magical night. Ellen enchanted audiences as the Good Witch, Glinda. Harris put together a bird-brained production that peaked with a half-assed “Birdman” satire.
I think David Spade said it best in this Oscar night tweet.
FADFACT: Neil Patrick Harris was required to wear two pairs of briefs sewn together for his “Birman” skit once the production team realized that the single pair of briefs became see-thru under the intense stage lights.
What do YOU think? Let us know who YOUR favorite Academy Award host is and why in the comment section below.