I still remember the first time I saw an award show.
I was 10, and it was the Academy Awards. Julia Roberts won her Best Actress statuette in that classic black Valentino gown with the white stripe down the middle, and Russell Crowe was still an attractive “Gladiator.”
But what really stands out in my mind wasn’t the show itself, but the process of watching it. Sitting belly-down on the living room carpet, eyes switching from the television to the rainbow Monopoly money that occupied my family’s time during the commercials (you remember what those are, right?).
Award shows, I’ve always believed, are one of those great unifiers. They’re not only conversation starters (Did you see what J.Lo was wearing? Can you believe Gervais said that? Why is Angie sticking her leg out like that? Why am I using celebrities’ names like we’re best buds?), but every show encapsulates a wide range of tastes.
The Arcade Fire lover can rock out with the Belieber, the indie snob can chill with the mainstream box office fan, and everyone can bond over bad clothing.
This year’s award season conversation kicked off last week with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing that the host joining legends like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Ellen DeGeneres and Jon Stewart is … Seth MacFarlane.
Wait, what?
So was the mass reaction of the entertainment industry when the “Family Guy” creator was announced as the upcoming host of the 85th Academy Awards.
In a history of well-known actors and beloved comedians, MacFarlane sticks out more than Charlie Sheen at Sunday Mass. With a career that’s mostly been behind the camera and script, it’s his jokes, rather than his face, that are recognizable.
To be fair, MacFarlane has been a frequent figure in the public eye lately. His film “Ted,” which he directed, wrote, produced and provided a voice for, was the summer’s sleeper hit with the highest opening of all time for an R-rated film. He’s already a regular on “Comedy Central Roasts,” and the movie’s success has pushed him further into the limelight, including a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.
Some would argue that who hosts the Oscars doesn’t really matter; people are tuning in to see the fashion and the glamour, not the crass jokes and lame music numbers. It’s the Golden Globes, with its boozy and laid-back atmosphere, where the host actually gets people talking.
With MacFarlane’s history of crassness (both “Family Guy” and “Ted” are hardly kid-friendly), it would seem that maybe the Academy is taking a page from its crazier cousin.
Gervais’ reign as the Globes host for the last three years has expanded the show’s relevance past its once glorification as a fashion show, with his “can you believe he just said that?” jokes turning into watercooler fodder the next day.
MacFarlane may just be the risk the Academy thinks it needs to take, though similar attempts with Chris Rock in 2005 were met with little praise.
The Academy has desperately been trying to amp up young viewership in the last couple of years and clearly is ready to take a risk with MacFarlane now that the Anne Hathaway-James Franco wounds have healed.
Especially after relying on the grandpa everyone wishes they had, Billy Crystal, the year before, the Oscars are clearly in need of a shake-up.
The question remains if MacFarlane’s the guy to do it. Though he’s slowly building mass appeal, I’d more likely shove him in the same category with Kevin Hart.
Hart was big on the comedy circuit this year and was breaking out from small movie roles with a cameo in “Modern Family.”
But his MTV VMAs hosting gig brought a 50 percent decline in viewership, no doubt caused in part by the fact that when people saw Hart’s name in the commercial, their only response was, “Who?”
But MacFarlane has four months to get America to know and love him, and if the Academy is smart they’ll do everything they can to shove him in our faces.
Who knows, maybe the guy will surprise us and become the next Bob Hope or Johnny Carson.
And if he’s not, well, there’s always Billy Crystal.
Do you think Seth MacFarlane is a good choice as host for the Academy Awards? Email Konstantinides at akonstantinides@media.ucla.edu .