It's A Wonderful Night For Oscar

...actually, no it isn't. I'm sure it must have seemed a good idea at the time, but after a few years of late winter Academy Awards, I don't think there's any question that it was a huge mistake for the Academy to move the ceremony from its traditional late March/early April date to late February. There was always something about the Oscars that heralded the beginning of spring, and it just doesn't feel the same to watch them in front of a roaring fire and with a chill in the air.

And I don't know if it was the writers strike or just a general malaise, but everything about this year's ceremony felt a little off - from the just OK performance of host Jon Stewart to the surprising parade of b-list stars as presenters (Dwayne Johnson? Cameron Diaz? Give me a break. This is the Oscars, people).

In my annual contest, defending my 2007 title, I ended up with a dismal 11/24 showing - I forgot to bring the ballots home from work, but I can't imagine that this will leave me anywhere near the top. I did well on the "major" awards (missing only the two Actress categories), but pretty much struck out on everything else.

Notes from the show:

- Jennifer Garner...just imagine, she probably paid a lot of money for that hairdo.

- You really can't go wrong with clips from old shows, especially when they feature legends like Fred Astaire and John Wayne.

- Is it just me, or has Steve Carell really worn out his welcome? And it's really bad form to plug a movie that hasn't come out yet during the Oscar ceremony.

- Katherine Heigl - now there's a hairdo.

- I get that they want to move the show along, but to cut off the winners in the middle of their speeches, even when they're barely a minute long? This is the biggest moment of their lives, folks. Let them enjoy it.

- Man...with all due respect, those songs from "Enchanted" really sucked. Even the wonderful Kristin Chenoweth couldn't save the one she sang.

- OK, I suppose I get having Owen Wilson come out, but then giving him nothing to do? Just seemed weird to me.

- Renee Zellwegger has started to look like one of those aliens from Star Trek: Insurrection that went through too many treatments on the face-stretching machine.

- Nice paint job on your head, John Travolta.

- Cameron Diaz - Son #2: "that freakin' smile creeps the freak out of me!" Why is she here? And why did she go to Jennifer Garner's hair-stylist?

- Hilary Swank and Helen Mirren - now there's glamorous.

- Gotta love the Coen brothers.

All in all...at best, a "B," and probably closer to "C+."