Seth MacFarlane: He can sing! He can dance! He can't mature beyond the age of 18!
OK, there were a couple of funny bits - the seduction of Sally Field was OK, and having William Shatner appear was amusing, but should have been funnier.
Seriously, MacFarlane is too smugly amused by himself, and his whole brand of humour is built on the sort of self aware political incorrectness that most people grow out of by their twenties.
So, I was thinking - what has gone wrong with finding an amusing host for the Oscar shows? It easily feels like 15 years or more since I've seen a host who I thought was doing a good job. Steve Martin used to be good, but not the last time he co-hosted. Same with Billy Crystal. Hollywood outsiders - like Lettermen - crash and burn. Some people liked Hugh Jackman, but I don't care for him in anything he ever does.
What the show needs is amiable LA insiders who can do a bit of comedy. Hosts don't need to sing and dance - let the professionals do that. It doesn't need "edgy" or ironic comedy, but it does need someone who appeals to a younger demographic.
So who fits this bill? It came to me last night. This guy:
Well, that's his latest role, as helpful flying monkey in the heavily promoted OZ film, but this is the man himself:
I mean, who doesn't like Zach Braff? Who didn't like Scrubs? In fact, he could do the whole hosting job as if it is a dream sequence from that show. (You could surely do worse than hand over the entire comedy writing job for the Oscars to that creative team.)
Who knows, if I had a readership, I think this could be a campaign that would take off.
Instead, we'll probably get Whoopi Goldberg for yet another attempt at a return to form.
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