One of my favorite Oscar moments!
My favorite Oscar moment had to have been when Ben Stiller came onstage as Joaquin Phoenix. Sporting dark sunglasses and a bushy beard that David Letterman might liken to the Unabomber’s, Ben Stiller walked on stage with Nathalie Portman, ostensibly to present the Best Cinematography category. As Portman played straight (wo)man, dutifully reading the names of the nominees, Stiller absently gazed stage right, defiantly placed his used chewing gum on the podium, and wandered aimlessly around the stage. ”You look like you work at a Hasidic meth lab,” Portman said, getting a few laughs of her own. Does taking pot shots at two-time nominee Phoenix approach the line of bad taste? Absolutely. But like Marisa Tomei, we laughed our pretty little heads off.
Runner up would be Steve Martin and Tina Fey. While presenting Best Original Screenplay, the comedians regaled us with scripted banter that was actually funny. In what had to be a mocking reference to Scientology, Martin extolled the power of ”Alien King Rondelay” in the writing process, to which Fey responded, ”No one wants to hear about our religion that we made up.” Moments later, when they introduced the Best Adapted Screenplay category, Fey stared adoringly at Martin. ”Don’t fall in love with me,” he deadpanned. It was goofy and loose and fun — three things the telecast could have used more of.
