What can you say about the  Academy Awards Show this year? It was nice. Ellen was nice. Except for the semi-snarky bit pretending that Lisa Minnelli (in the flesh) was actually the best female impersonator ever. Lisa did not look amused. The dresses were tasteful, mostly pastel or bright, and that was . . . nice. Although I do feel the need to point out that if...

And why he didn’t get the Oscar for best actor in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Did I really expect him to win?  Hell no.   The Academy lives in an alternate universe of favoritism, whims, grosses, paybacks, politics—everything but actually seeking out the “best” in any category. Did you know that there are online sites solely devoted to the...

So how did you like those adorable kids from Staten Island singing “Over The Rainbow” at the Oscars? Andy “Who-Needs-Caffeine” Cohen jolted the hosts over at “Morning Joe” by crassly criticizing the cute little buggers, noting that “everything has its time and its place ” and this wasn’t either. He said that the...

Eons ago, when the world was young and I wasn’t so bad myself, I hosted Oscar parties complete with (gasp!) gambling, guzzling, and gaping at the gowns. Nothing like a nice, alliterative party, I always say. Things change. I stopped giving the parties and attended those of others. Still, I was enthusiastic about the Academy Awards: one year, between the...