We're watching here. Sorry, but I have to disagree. Some of it's cute, but I think most of it so far is beyond lame.

I'm watching it and enjoying some of it. But I have nothing to compare it to-I haven't watched it since I was a kid.

Who was that weirdo with the beard, that put his gum on the podium? Was he supposed to be funny?

boring as usual. Why do I watch every year?

Thought Jerry Lewis looked better than he has in many years.

Who was that weirdo with the beard, that put his gum on the podium? Was he supposed to be funny?

It was Ben Stiller making fun of Joaquin Phoenix.

I think it's boring every year...but I watch anyway. I only pay half attention to it...hear what I want to hear. I'm not interested in most of it, just the main movies, the rest is usually a yawn for me.

I did enjoy the way they brought back past winners to present. Raquel looked marvelous.
If they left out the acceptance speeches, the show would be over with in a half hour.
I'd just as soon look on the internet later to see who wins.
I'm going to watch the after Oscar parties though. I like to see who's wearing what.

I liked it very much. The opening was enjoyable and humorous. I also liked them having the past winners present the awards. The pacing was good and it didn't seem too long this year. Also they didn't cut people off on their acceptance speeches.

I thought a lot of it was disrespectful like the Ben Stiller part and like Miss America it was too dark and the gowns and some of the presenters faces were in the dark especially Sophia Loren. The big musical number with the tap dancers and Hugh Jackman was almost unwatchable it was so dark at the end they turned up the stage light and I thought if only they had done that in the begining.
It was the same with the tribute o those no longer with us it seemed like they were showing the clips in a long alley and it was difficult to see their faces and the names were almost unreadable

I was happy that there was only one or two political remarks and the spewing of Sean Penn addressing the commie and homo loving people in the audience was uncalled for I think.

I agree not two exciting especially since I didn't see any of the movies and after watching the show will not bother to go and see them of course this is MHO
I did like the way they made the presentations to the best actor and actress

I enjoyed most of it as well

I really enjoyed seeing Jerry Lewis and the clips of the ppl that have gone on.

I liked the best actor/actress awards and how they were presented..and particularly enjoyed that Sean Penn mentioned Mickey Rourke.

I have to admit tho that I wished Mickey had won *something*,and was thoroughly disgusted that Slumdog took all that it did.

I just watch to see what they are wearing - some gorgeous dresses there last night. I haven't seen any of the movies or actors who were nominated so who won what is not important to me.

I watch every year and I'm not sure I liked the changes this year (I don't generally like change in anything though). I liked it in previous years when last year's winning actor would present to this year's winning actress, etc.

Hugh Jackman was ok, I still prefer Billy Crystal as the host, though, no one can outdo him.

And I thought Ben Stiller's parody of Joaquin Phoenix was HILARIOUS!!!! For those of you who thought Ben Stiller was acting weird or disrespectful, you obviously didn't see David Letterman's interview with Joaquin Phoenix.

I was thrilled that Slumdog Millionaire won so many awards, I loved that movie. And very glad that Sean Penn won for best actor, I think his speech was the best of the night.

I just caught a little at the end.

Queen Lahtifa sang beautifully.

I liked it a lot. I thought Hugh Jackman was adorable, and I loved the Frost/Nixon bit he did with Anne Hathaway. I also liked the five Oscar winners announcing the Best Actor/Actress nominations.

I was less crazy about the big musical number with Beyonce (although I love the old musicals they were honoring), and found the montage of nominated movies with old movies mixed in rather confusing, at least at first.

Ben Still was very funny! So were Steve Martin and Tina Fey.

I found a lot of the gowns rather unappealing this year. Alicia Keys gets my vote for best look.

Of course, you can't please everyone. I came home last night after enjoying the show and found an email from a friend who said, "What a complete waste of time." Of course, she and I disagree on comedians and sitcoms, too. She likes Howard Stern and Two-and-a-Half Men; I like Jon Stewart and I Love Lucy. :-)

I admit to channel flipping while it was on, but I thought the parts I watched were superb. The stage and lighting were beautiful. Very art deco. I also liked the multiple winners doing the presentations. It was a nice change. We aren't "movie" people---we don't go and we don't rent videos---so I didn't know some of the people. Still, it was a nice show.

My only GASP was seeing Sophia Loren. Ewwwww.

Boring! Every year the producers keep promising to do this or that to shorten the program and then never do. Quite frankly I'm at the point where I'll just video tape it so I can fast forward through the parts that are unnecessary/boring/commercials.

Jackman was good, but like others, I'd prefer someone of Billy Crystal's caliber.

As far as the speeches go, I'd like to see them just say "thanks to everyone" and be done with it. Sure would shorten the show.

Now I wished I would have watched. I switched to the pre-show and decided that the whole thing would be too slow and too long.

I always watch. I love seeing what the stars are wearing and the way they show who's in the audience. I loce picking out people I recohnize. The end where the past winners introduced the best actor/actress nominees was just wonderful-nice to see Sophia Loren is as beautiful and gracious as ever.

More thoughts:

Goldie Hawn's dress was awful. Jessica Biel's wasn't that great either.

Penelope Cruz's dress was pretty.

Angelina Jolie's green jewelry was too big and clunky and fake looking (did you see the ring???).

Steve Martin was funny "Don't fall in love with me"....great line!

Beyonce was clearly lip-singing and not doing a very good job of it. That dance number was cheesy and boring.

I didn't like the way they mixed the 2 nominated songs from Slumdog Millionaire with the nominated song from WALL-E. I thought they each should have had their own spots.

Sounds like a lot of negative things but I enjoyed the Oscars as I do almost every year. The host didn't suck like some past hosts (David Letterman). I enjoyed the speeches where people actually had something to say rather than just list off a bunch of names.

As usual, it was too long. I watched the first 2 1/2 hours and then went to bed. I thought most of it was pretty good. The only movies I had seen were Milk and Changeling.

I liked it. I tivo and start watching about 30 minutes into the program so I can skip through parts I don't find too interesting. It works great. I thought Hugh Jackman was better than anyone who's hosted in a long time. Very few people in their 70s look as good as Sophia Loren did.

I liked it very much. The set was beautiful, and Hugh Jackman did a great job. I thought it seemed a little more relaxed and intimate. I loved the way the top awards were presented by past winners. That was a really nice touch.
I missed the red carpet and the first ten or so minutes, but caught all of the rest.
It could have used a couple more numbers, but I thought it was one of the better shows. The "Musical" number with Beyonce (sp?) was good.

I was so glad that Slumdog Millionaire won so many awards. That was a great movie.

Could have done without Sean Penn and his speech and his political input.

I didn't see any dresses I was all that impressed with either. All the guys looked really nice.

Actually Angela I thought Sean Penn's speech was wonderful. I didn't take it to be a speech about politics but rather a speech about human rights and equality. That's all I'll say.

Casey - to each his own. And that's all I'll say.

I have a lot of respect for Sean Penn and got a kick out of how he mentioned how hard he sometimes makes it to appreciate him. I feel there was definitely value in his speech and comments on equality.

Wasn't crazy about Hugh Jackman's job hosting or his singing and dancing. Enjoyed him a bit more after getting to know him and his background better during his interview with Barbara Walters though.

Really enjoyed the past winning presenters setting up the current nominees. It was beautifully done.

I read Q&A, the book Slumdog Millionaire was based on and so did my DH. We both felt the movie did not do the book justice. It was a good movie but I don't think worth of all the wins it landed.

I agree with Casey, if you didn't see Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman a couple weeks ago, you probably can't appreciate what Ben Stiller did. Google "Letterman Phoenix" to get a better sense of what Joaquin did on Letterman. It was pretty odd. :-)

Jodi-

I'm trying to find out the name of that tune they played during the tribute to action movies. It was a fast paced, high energy thing - OK it was loud too - but for some reason I found it catchy. This from a hard-core Beatles fan. Even though the 'classic rock' station is what I listen to, every once in a while something contemporary catches my ear.

Any ideas?

I missed it...on purpose! It was a perfect night to catch up on my sleep.

I agree with Minnie, one of the pieces we look forward to is the tribute to those who have passed away. Most of the pictures we couldn't see and had no idea what the names were. I thought it was very poorly presented for the TV audience.

Why wasn't Heath Ledger part of the tribute piece? I thought that was odd.

They paid tribute to Ledger at last year's Oscars. He passed away in January, 2008.