The gif that keeps on giving

It was definitely young and, to a certain extent, hip. But was it a success? Ah, that’s where it gets particularly conten–tious.

Since it was announced late last year that Anne Hathaway and James Franco would be hosting the 83rd Academy Awards, a massive weight was thrust upon the Hollywood institution’s suddenly younger shoulders. The awards show was sliding into irrelevance — it hadn’t been cool in donkey’s years — and producers thought it best to give things a shot in the arm by going after a tech-happy demo. While their intentions may have been noble, their decision to hire the chick who flashed her boobies in Love and Other Drugs and that stoner dude from Pineapple Express was totally risky. But we’ll get to that later.      

By all accounts, this year’s Oscars started out great. The opening montage, sprinkled with a liberal dose of Alec Baldwin, was fun and clearly inspired. When veteran actor Kirk Douglas went up on stage to give away the night’s first golden statuette, it came off as sweet and touching, almost like a symbolic, passing-the-baton kind of gesture. But watching a stroke victim struggle with his spiel can test even the most ardent film industry supporter, and soon it became awkward, then uncomfortable, then you just had to look away. Justin Timberlake didn’t have to make fun of the guy.

Of course, there was also Melissa Leo. The relatively unknown star, who along with Christian Bale won supporting acting awards for The Fighter, dropped the F-bomb during her otherwise acceptable acceptance speech. In hindsight, it now seems premeditated, a ploy to extend her moment in the spotlight. That may or may not be the case, but she should anticipate a fair amount of backlash as a result of the perceived fakery. People these days are generally more suspicious — and less tolerant — of Lea Michele-like try-hards.

And with that circularity, we return to this year’s hosting duo. Anne Hathaway’s “We’re young and hip” joke in the beginning was fine; this self-awareness, no doubt egged on by scriptwriters, acted as a foil to her endearing brand of dorkiness. When she repeated it explicitly or implicitly throughout the evening, however, it just smacked of desperation. Like, yeah, the Oscars are “younger” and “hipper” this time around. We get it, bitch. (Don’t get me wrong, though. I love Mia Thermopolis.)

Perhaps the 28-year-old was extra perky because she felt compelled to do James Franco’s job, too. It’s one thing to play it cool, but the 127 Hours actor took slacker to a whole other level: he looked like he was cruising on the magic dragon. Coupled with a ghastly complexion, his dead faraway gaze became even starker next to Anne’s eager-beaver saucer eyes. He seemed more interested in entertaining his Twitter followers than accomplishing the task at hand, as he published more than 20 short and grainy videos by evening’s end. That said, I have to admit I had a blast watching him because he looked so baked. The cherry on top of that bong-shaped cake would have to be his send-off to all the technical Oscar winners: “Congratulations, nerds.”

While James Franco seemed high, the show’s ratings were not. According to TV by the Numbers, this year’s production was down 12 percent versus last year’s numbers. The average viewership fell to 37.6 million viewers among adults 18-49, down 9 percent from 2010. Maybe recruiting younger hosts isn’t enough. Maybe it needs Kanye. Or more upsets, shorter speeches, more questionable red carpet fashion choices, and free booze at every commercial break. Forget Ricky Gervais, bring on Charlie Sheen! Now that would be something.

This year’s Oscars may have only been occasionally riveting, but I liked it more than I didn’t because finally, I could relate to it. While watching the online stream, I couldn’t help but think that the scriptwriters were Tumblr people. From the parade of Internet favorites — Christian “Jesus” Bale, Robert Downey Jr., Mila Kunis — to Justin Timberlake’s “There’s an app for that,” it seemed as if the memes on my dashboard sprung to life.

Critics may have ripped in — the presentation, but the opinions of these cranky people are irrelevant. After all, we are living in the age of gifs and hashtags. The overwhelming consensus among members of the Harry Potter generation, at least the ones I follow, is that “This Academy Awards should win an Academy Award for being the best Academy Awards ever.” The Dance of the Brown Duck? James Franco in a leotard? Internet gold, my friends.

This is only the third Oscars I’ve watched in my life. The first was in 2008, when Slumdog Millionaire won and Wolverine sang. Then last year, when The Hurt Locker was the big winner. This year is memorable because The King’s Speech, my favorite, won. All you Social Network and Inception stans need to get over it.

But speaking of Inception, when we rummage through the recycling bin of history years from now, will the 83rd Academy Awards reveal itself as a joke inside a joke inside another one? An intentionally amateurish meta-Oscars? It may not have been perfect — and may have even come off like an octogenarian in skinny jeans — but it was a valiant effort. Just think of all the wonderful gifs and memes it provided us this season. 

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