Many of you may have read the story last week about how the Oscar show producers considered Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen for hosting duties. They quickly dropped the plan, and it looks like they made the right decision given they couldn't even go along with his idea for a little skit during the show. According to many different reports, Cohen and Ben Stiller were scheduled to present an award Sunday night and the two of them had developed a comedy bit where Cohen would appear as a Na'Vi woman from James Cameron's Avatar and Stiller would be her "translator." You can read the entire description here, but we'll jump forward in the sketch to the point where Cohen would be confronting James Cameron in the theater.
Worried Cameron would not get the joke, based on his reputation for being a guy who isn't self-deprecating, the producers have dumped Cohen and Stiller. Maybe Stiller will show up and do something else, but it sounds like Cohen won't even make the trip from England to LA for the show.
The whole story raises several fears I have about the Oscars show. First, they are trying too hard to be funny. In the past, the best comedy comes from witty writing delivered by the award presenters or the host's opening monologue. Rarely do full bits work. They often drag on and on making you wish you had decided to watch a re-run of Gary Unmarried instead (any program with less humor than Gary Unmarried should be banned from society, much like Gary Unmarried).
Second, are you telling me we are going to have several of these comedy bits, which will drag the show to a 4-hour running time?
Third, it sounds like James Cameron will be in the front row for the show, which means we will have to look at him all night long and watch close-ups of his non-reactions and sour reactions. Wow. Sounds entertaining.
I hope Ben Stiller decides to take the night off and continue working on his Zoolander 2 script.
