One of the things I forgot to mention in my review of Sunday night / Monday morning's Oscar ceremony was the welcome sight of Jerry Seinfeld presenting the award for best long-form documentary. By the time ol' Jer showed up to give the award, most viewers, including myself, were punchy and tired, but it did seem like he injected a much-needed bit of irreverent humor into the show.His prepared stand-up bit was short but funny. He talked about how movie theaters shouldn't ask patrons to clean up after themselves because, after overcharging for popcorn and food that he shouldn't even be eating, he should have the right to be able to dispense of his junk by just opening his hand. He then led into the announcement of the nominations by saying: "And now, here are the five extremely depressing films that are nominated for this award."
All of this leads me to wonder: Why has Jerry never hosted this show? He seems to be a natural at it.
I wonder if the powers that be at the Academy ever gave a thought to having Seinfeld host the show, only to have Jerry turn them down because he didn't need the gig. It seems like a good fit; his humor is clean, but biting enough to give the ceremony the oomph it didn't get from Ellen DeGeneres this year. But he's not cynical enough to piss people off, like Chris Rock and Jon Stewart did in '05 and '06, respectively.
My feeling is that the folks at the Academy need to beg and plead Jerry to be the host next year. I don't know what they can do... maybe contribute a bucket of money to his favorite charity, or buy him a lifetime supply of Turtle Wax for one of his Porsches. But they've got to do something.
Anyway, whether Jerry ever hosts the show or not, he needs to come back to TV in some capacity. After seeing him here and his hilarious guest stint on David Steinberg's Sit-Down Comedy, I know Jer still has something left in him. Maybe he needs to host a new version of You Bet Your Life, or do a talk show similar to what Steinberg is doing. At the very least, it might be time for another stand-up special. But TV is a better place with Seinfeld around than when he's not.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-26-2007 @ 8:30PM
mike m said...
I'm glad you made this point Joel. I was wondering why you didn't mention it earlier today in your Oscar blog. I have to agree. Seinfeld was one of only two things that didn't feel boring, tired or stale.
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2-26-2007 @ 9:09PM
David said...
Quoting: "By the time ol' Jer showed up to give the award, most viewers, including myself, were punchy and tired ..."
Would you care to show proof of work, Joel? I know you're pretty good with the hyperbole, but this is a bit much, even for you.
My distaste for your skillessness aside, I agree with your overall points. Jerry would make a nice host for the Oscars, and Jerry should find a vehicle with which to re-engage himself in a regular television series.
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2-26-2007 @ 9:10PM
Mike McNamara said...
Seinfeld was funny -- but he was far from original or fresh. His prepared bits felt like they were the opening stand-up bits from his show -- you know, the parts filmed in the comedy club they eventually stopped doing by the time his show left the air because they started seeming so contrived and lame. I expected him to breakout into "What's with these airplane peanuts they serve at the Oscars?" Talk about boring, tired or stale -- if we're going to look longingly 90s, why don't we just ask Neve Campbell to present too?
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2-26-2007 @ 9:33PM
BartmanDK said...
IMO he totaly outshined Ellen
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2-26-2007 @ 10:13PM
Michael Canfield said...
His bit was funny, and I agree he would make a good host. Alec Baldwin, so funny in 30 Rock, and even off-the-cuff in interviews, would be a good choice too, I think.
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2-26-2007 @ 10:17PM
Curt said...
Yeah, I don't see Seinfeld holding a 3 hour show together. His routine gets stale and old after 45 minutes.
I like the idea of Baldwin doing it. Have Tina Fey be his writer and you're gold
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2-26-2007 @ 10:36PM
Tangi said...
Only if you want to be board to death on his very dry comedy.
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2-26-2007 @ 11:04PM
Herr Keller said...
how about we just get rid of the oscars?
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2-26-2007 @ 11:11PM
Jim said...
There's no doubt that Seinfeld is funny. But his bit last night fell flat.
I wonder how hard Al Gore laughed when Jerry suggested we shouldn't throw away our trash in the movies. And calling the nominated documentaries "extremely depressing" was out of line.
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2-26-2007 @ 11:22PM
GhaleonQ said...
Yeah, unless he makes himself as scarce as DeGeneres did, his act would fall apart.
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2-26-2007 @ 11:54PM
scott said...
Jerry's bit was not prepared in the sense of being part of the show. He may have prepared it prior to on his own, but my co-worker attended the all the rehearsals on Saturday, and she said he didn't do any material at all. Rather he read whatever was prepared for him. He apparently deviated from the script big-time. But hey, he's Jerry Seinfeld and he can get away with it.
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2-27-2007 @ 4:33AM
chris said...
Jerry Seinfeld will never host the Oscars after his crack about the five depressing films nominated for best documentary...and also for his jokes about theater concessions. Sure, I laughed at the jokes...but they were not appropriate for the occasion. This is Hollywood's high holy day..you can't insult show business at the Oscars! Think about Chris Rock in 2005 after he made a smartass remark about Johnny Depp: Sean Penn came on right afterwards and was so upset and visibly annoyed. Rock wasn't asked back. Seinfeld won't be asked.
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2-27-2007 @ 8:31AM
GamerJunk.net said...
Seinfeld is more annoying than good.
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2-27-2007 @ 11:12AM
Justin said...
Actually, Rock insulted Jude Law, and Penn (who needs to grow a sense of humor) came on and defended his "good friend". Just sayin. :)
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2-27-2007 @ 11:56AM
Alicia said...
According to this story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070227/en_nm/osborne_dc)
"And if it seemed as if Jerry Seinfeld was maybe auditioning for a future Oscar host gig, fuggedaboudit. He's been asked to do so by the Academy several times but has always said no."
I'd like to see the Academy go with a movie person, since this is a movie show. George Clooney is always amusing in interviews. What's he doing next year?
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2-27-2007 @ 12:30PM
Scott said...
I think Seinfeld would make a great host. But he underlines the main problem that Oscar hosts have--the crowd in the auditorium wants one thing, and home viewers want something very different. His "very depressing movies" line was not only funny, but TRUE, and home viewers knew it, and laughed because he had the guts to say it. The Hollywood people (and a handful of Oscar nuts at home), though, were offended at his "inappropriate remark." They want the whole thing treated like a solemn coronation of Hollywood and the motion picture industry as the greatest, most sacred force in the world. That's why Rock, Stewart, and Ellen all were good for the home viewers, but went over like lead bricks with the live audience. Only someone as old-fashioned-show-biz as Billy Crystal can satisfy those people. Whoopi Goldberg, on the other hand, was bad for everyone :-)
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2-27-2007 @ 12:48PM
Jim said...
March Of The Penguins won last year. How depressing was that?
And it wasn't even as good as Mad Hot Ballroom.
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3-28-2007 @ 11:29AM
Tom Heintjes said...
Sorry, just saw this exchange...I thought Jerry's presentation was great, despite the fact that he offended some documentarians. The producers had to know that he would poke some (good-natured) fun at their craft...who did they think they were getting, Bob Saget??!! Jerry is the man! Can't wait for Season 8, on sale in June according to Amazon! Lots of Seinfeld love at http:www.hipster-doofus.com
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