Opening the Oscars by saying, "Ladies ... Gentleman ... Felicity Huffman," Jon Stewart set the tone for what would be one of the most clever and witty Oscar ceremonies in recent years.The choice of Stewart as host of the 78th annual Academy Awards was a departure from recent years. And the fact that Stewart's comparisons in the media today were not of Billy Crystal, Steve Martin or David Letterman, but of Johnny Carson, echo that departure. Stewart doesn't dance and he doesn't sing (thankfully), but what he does do is poke fun at politics and the media with satire. While Stewart's "The Daily Show" only averages about 1.4 million viewers a night, the rest of America and the world finally got to see the smartest guy on TV.In the opening monologue, Stewart daringly took on Hollywood while sticking to his guns; wit and politics. You don't get more liberal than Hollywood actors, and Stewart reminded them, "You get to see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party ... and this is the first night for the stars to actually vote for a winner," he said. But Stewart didn't forget to include the Republicans either. "Bjork couldn't be here tonight. She was trying on her Oscar dress and Dick Cheney shot her," he said.All joking aside, this year's Oscar nominees for best picture reflected current and constant hot-topic issues, so it was fitting that America's leading fake news anchor satirist got a chance to host and quip, "But all the films this year that have been nominated are excellent films. They deal with racism, corruption, terrorism and censorship. It's why we go to the movies: to escape." Citing best picture nominees "Capote" and "Good Night and Good Luck," Stewart said these movies depict dogged journalist demanding nothing but the truth ... and are obviously period pieces. Even the famous, or should I say infamous, Oscar montages got a Stewart touch-up.Making fun of your audience isn't always a successful tact, but with Stewart's constant self-deprecation, everyone gets to have fun. From his protege Steven Colbert's bashing of non-American female actresses via politically stylized commercials to the "Brokeback Mountain" homage of the classic western's homosexual nature, Stewart was insightful while poking fun at Hollywood on its most prestigious night. Coming back from a commercial break, Stewart even ad-libbed a joke about the religion made famous by the likes of Tom Cruise and John Travolta: Scientology. And he reminded America that when it illegally downloaded movies, it was stealing from female celebrities who couldn't even afford enough cloth to cover up their breasts. But Stewart wasn't about to leave himself out of the party either.Referencing some of his not-so-stellar acting performances ("Death to Smoochey," anyone?), and that he wasn't even the first choice as host, Stewart's jokes were, despite his fake news background, both fair and balanced.Stewart kept the Oscars running smoothly, made fun of rich stars and still found time to criticize the government. Stewart once said that he doesn't go by his last name, Leibowitz, because it was too Hollywood. Hopefully next year the Academy Awards will disagree and invite him back.hello there & you too
