It may have been long. It may have been riddled with bad jokes and too many musical numbers. But when the right people win (which was almost completely the case last night), it’s hard to see the Oscars as anything but a fun night at the movies. So here they are, the winners and losers in my eyes from what was a memorable 2013 Oscars.
Winners: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner
Not only did they both look great, they proved once again to be the sweetest, most normal couple at the Oscars when Ben talked in his acceptance speech about how marriage is work but, “…it’s the best work. There’s no one else I’d rather work with.” Real, lasting marriages take hard work, but the key is to find someone you love working with—and I’m so happy two of my favorite people in Hollywood found that in each other.
Losers: Seth McFarlane’s attempts to be edgy
With jokes about 9-year-old nominees dating George Clooney, Rihanna and Chris Brown, and actresses looking great after getting the “flu” (a not-so-subtle reference to bulimia), there were more than a few spots where McFarlane didn’t just fall flat; he crossed the line. And I kept feeling uncomfortable when he would call out the crowd for not laughing or for reacting poorly to his jokes. It just wasn’t my style of humor, but I suppose we sadly can’t have Amy Poehler and Tina Fey host everything.
Winners: Dancers
Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron looked gorgeous during their old-Hollywood-style routine, as did Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe. If there’s one thing McFarlane and the producers did right, it was bringing back some panache to the show in the classiest way possible: good-old-fashioned dance numbers.
Loser: Catherine Zeta-Jones
Her performance of “All That Jazz” was just painful. If you’re going to lip-synch, at least have the decency to match up your mouth with the music.
Winner: Jennifer Hudson
Now that is how you relive your Oscar glory, Ms. Zeta-Jones.
Losers: James Bond fans
Was anybody else severely underwhelmed by the Bond tribute, or was that just me? Halle Berry was the best you could do, producers? Did none of the past (or present) Bonds want to come to the Oscars?
Winners: Musical Theater Nerds
Seeing the cast of Les Misérables all on stage at once, belting their hearts out to “One Day More” was enough to give me chills and keep me rewatching multiple times. Kudos to Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, and, of course, Hugh Jackman for standing out and making the Oscars feel for a brief moment like the Tony Awards—and I mean that as a compliment.
Losers: The men of America not named Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper
After Jennifer Lawrence’s unfortunate tumble on her way to accept her Best Actress Oscar, Jackman and Cooper immediately rushed to her aid, proving to all the women watching that chivalry isn’t dead and gentlemen do still exist. My expectations for the opposite sex may have just been raised more than a little bit.

