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Colin Firth On "Tinker, Tailor" (Video I ...Oscar Review: Seth MacFarlane's Badness Explained
Was Seth MacFarlane the victim of some terrible time-travel accident that caused him – and all his Oscar-show material – to be trapped in the 1950’s (and not in a successfully ironic way)? That’s the most generous explanation I have for his pathetically unfunny job as Oscar host.
I never thought it was hard to figure out why the producers chose him as host: it was a blunt attempt to have things both ways. They could try to lure in MacFarlane’s young, irreverent fans - the people who watch Family Guy and who made Ted, his movie about an R-rated talking teddy bear, a hit. At the same time they’d have MacFarlane bring his retro-crooner persona; after all, he’s the guy who recently recorded an album of 40’s standards. I never imagined it would all backfire so badly.
In the opening routine, William Shatner as Capt. Kirk pretended to drop in from the Star Trek future to prevent MacFarlane from fulfilling a headline calling him “Worst Oscar Host Ever.” That was the show’s one really risky joke, because it makes it way too easy to let the other shoe drop on MacFarlane now. What might have made him so bad in that future world? As Capt. Kirk explained, he offended women with a musical number, which the show then went on to play in its entirety. It was “We Saw Your Boobs,” with MacFarlane and a group of chorus men in tuxes singing and dancing while listing the actresses whose boobs they’ve seen in movies (Anne Hathaway in Brokeback Mountain, Kate Winslet in everything she does).
This apparently was the Oscar show’s stab at being cleverly self-referential, alluding to the offensiveness of a sketch and then playing it “in quotes.” Bad move, and not nearly clever enough. The live audience did not seem amused. Kathryn Bigelow and Helen Hunt were especially stony-faced.
The real problem wasn’t that the routine was offensive (although it was juvenile). It wasn’t funny. Somehow, MacFarlane and the producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, never grasped that being self-referential is no excuse for being lame.
Sometimes there wasn’t even irony to cloak the tired material. MacFarlane referred to the tenacity of Jessica Chastain’s character in Zero Dark Thirty and said it’s “a celebration of every woman’s innate ability to never ever let anything go.” Yikes, that’s a “Take my wife, please” joke. His more topical comedy? Introducing Ben Affleck, he made a reference to Gigli. There should be a statute of limitations on Gigli jokes – not because Affleck gets a pass on it, but because the subject is used up, it’s boring by now.
As I said in my broader roundup of the show and it many, many problems, trying hard to be edgy isn’t the same as being edgy. The animated Ted, appearing with his co-star Mark Wahlberg, joked about having to be Jewish to make it in Hollywood, telling Wahlberg about “secret synagogue meetings.” I can accept that the joke is about a stereotype, and not merely stereotypical. But how stale is the stereotype it’s sending up?
The producers may have thought they were getting retro-MacFarlane, but instead they got some archaic time-traveler from the past, who wasn’t even sharp enough to be offensive.
He was offensive, although not sharp about it, at one point. After Adele finished singing, MacFarlane said he was going to have Rex Reed comment on her. That was a fairly obscure but thoroughly mean-spirited reference to Reed’s attack on Melissa McCarthy’s weight in his review of Identity Thief. Yes, Seth MacFarlane made an Adele fat joke. But guess what? She won an Oscar for co-writing the theme to Skyfall, and he quite possibly goes down in history as Capt. Kirk’s and our worst nightmare. .
22 Comments
matt | February 28, 2013 3:48 PM
I think he kinda sucked as host. He wasn't as horrible as this blog would lead me to believe, but it was a pretty dull performance and a pretty dull show in general. But Jeez I can't imagine actually being offended at anything he said. I see a lot of people in the comment section are upset. why are people so sensitive?
Linda | February 27, 2013 7:09 PM
I was very offended by the continuous stereotype of Jews running the entertainment industry. When will this stop? If you were Jewish, you would be sensitive to this issue, as Jews throughout history have been stigmatized, and killed. No other group of people is signaled out in this manner, and this form of "so called entertainment" is not at all funny. The other absolutely ridiculous skit was the one in which you had the gay mens' chorus singing the "boob" song.This audience is not mostly made up of pre-pubescent teenagers. Can you, or whoever writes the dialogue in between the award presentations, not come up with anything either not vulgur or offensive?
Karen Waslowski | February 26, 2013 11:42 PM
Oscar show comedy is ALWAYS stupid, people! What did you expect? The intros are yada, yada, yada, BANG. Then there is the interminable clever chatter between presenters, then the interminable thank you's to god/mother/wife/lover/father/lawyer/accountant/agent. Hollywood is so sleazy they will say and do anything, insult anyone, rape and pillage on the stage, if it will get an approval point. And, since the dawn of man, the easiest way to hook the young is say something offensive. It's a no-brainer (kind of like the young) I learned years ago - you watch the first half hour and the last 40 minutes. That way you get the supporting actor/actress, and then the best actor/actress/director and movie. And, in Hollywood's appeal to the older crowd, you get your list of the dead. It's a win/win.
Michael Shumway | February 26, 2013 3:43 PM
Some people find "Family Guy" and Seth McFarlane funny, but the Academy should have known to chose someone else if they wanted someone with broader appeal, or at least someone who wouldn't have offended large swaths of people, particularly the people being celebrated. If it was Mr. McFarlane and his cohort writing the show, you would have to expect to get the kind of show they are capable of creating. I admit, I don't care much for his stuff because I don't find his style of humor particularly funny or entertaining. It is edgy perhaps, but also not very imaginative. It isn't that Mr. McFarlane didn't do better, less offensive jokes, it is that he probably isn't capable of coming up with better, less offensive jokes.
ifit'swrong, it'swrong | February 26, 2013 3:21 PM
To all the people defending Seth McFarlane here, I'm a family guy fan, but just because you like a person's work doesn't make everything they do right and it doesn't help them to pretend that it does.
I (thankfully) didn't watch the broadcast, but have heard of some jokes that were just mean.
I DID see the 'boob song' and it was a show of shame.
Singing about boobs in movies is one thing, singing about boobs seen in Boys don't cry and the accused and a leaked phone photo os another.
Both those films were about REAL LIFE RAPE victims, both of whom are now DEAD.
It's not funny, not to their family and friends.
He should have left Hilary Swank and Jodie foster out of his list as well as Scarlett Johansson. because she was the victim of a CRIME. She didn't not CONSENT to Seth McFarlane seeing her pictures and he should not be joking about it.
I enjoy the edgy humour of family guy, but if someone cracked a joke about a illegally acquired picture of me, I wouldn't be amused and neither would any of you.
I know women who have been raped and if their story were portrayed on screen I would not expect it to become a punchline in a boob joke.
These are REAL PEOPLE, not the cartoons on family guy.
Steve | February 26, 2013 1:59 PM
You missed the point on the Chastain joke too. Go back and watch it again. Notice how Seth enunciates that last few words and then stresses the final word "go". Like's he's had a bad experience in the past that he's angry about and that he clearly can't let go of.
And then tell me who the joke was about.
Charlie | February 25, 2013 6:32 PM
Yeah, you totally missed the point of the Melissa Mccarthy joke that he made to Adele. He was making fun of Rex Reed! Did you not see that or was your reactionary feminist brain too angry to laugh at that point. I watched the show in a room full of comedians in NYC. Gay, straight, female, all types. We were howling! They WERE all funny. Offensive? sure, but don't say it wasn't funny. You just didn't get the jokes.
charlie | February 25, 2013 6:20 PM
Yo have no idea what you are talking about. You have no idea what a good joke is. You are offended by everything. The entire idea of Hollywood is offensive, and you get offended by a comedian shooting some truth out there? Please go worry about your PC ethics somewhere else. If these people can't take a roasting, then get the hell out of Hollywood!
Hollywoodinsider | February 25, 2013 3:47 PM
Dreadful stuff last night. If it felt like 4 hrs to you watching, it felt like a lifetime sitting in a seat.
Sean | February 25, 2013 10:23 AM
Context aside, this blog is poorly written and boring. Hobby or paid?
Jen | February 25, 2013 9:52 AM
Yes there were some jokes that were offensive but you have to remember
this is Seth MacFarlene. He is know for pushing the envelop and taking
risks. He at least tried you got to give him that and he had some good
moments. I liked him hosting, but he already said he would not do it again
due to his busy schedule. Another thing you have to remember is he was sick
the last 3 weeks with the flu so not a lot of practice. His singing to me though
loved it! And that's my 2 cents
jimbo | February 25, 2013 7:36 AM
to each their own. i thought he was the most entertaining, edgy host the oscars have had for years. calling him the worst seems to dismiss stoned out franco from two years ago.
SebbeG | February 25, 2013 5:29 AM
Only thing bad here is your blog... I watch every year and MacFarlane is one of the best hosts yet...
Rich Sol | February 25, 2013 4:22 AM
Kudos for nailing MacFarlane as the crappy, antisemitic, disgusting hack he is. His material only appeals to the juvenile of all ages that confuses obnoxious with funny.
chris-leo | February 25, 2013 4:20 AM
were you watching the same oscars?? i was in a room full of people, and it was unanimous. macfarlane was a showman of the first order. jokes, witty intros, dancing, great voice, charm, just enough self-deprecation, and i don't believe i've EVER seen anyone look that comfortable hosting anything in my life. and he was able to get out of the way just enough to not make it all about him. he single-handedly made that one of the best oscar telecasts i've seen in recent memory.
Ron | February 25, 2013 3:35 AM
Do you get paid to write this blog or is this just a hobby for you? I watched this year's Oscars with my father, grandfather, girlfriend, and her sister and we all laughed and thought everything about it was well done. None of us are Family Guy fans or have seen Ted. His jokes were racial and sexist but they were supposed to be edgy and push the limits. I loved it. Not sure how you can legitimately be so negative about it.
Brian | February 25, 2013 3:05 AM
I think you may have misinterpreted the Rex Reed joke. I believe Mr. MacFarlane was making a joke at Mr. Reed's expense. After all, what kind of a buffoon would complain about Adele's weight in the wake of a great performance. But that nuance may not fit in with the narrative of this article.
Kelly | February 25, 2013 2:46 AM
Does a guy who's head looks like that get to tell fat jokes about somebody else?
What an embarrassing dick.