Last night’s Oscars were one of the best I can remember. From a quick sample today, I think this may NOT be the prevailing opinion, but I suspect it’s only because nobody else paid enough attention during the show, which was captivating from start to finish. Ellen’s brave opening monologue was hilarious from her quip “where would Hollywood be without Jews, Blacks and Gays?” to her recognition of diversity at the awards, including Steve Carell as one example. One of her best lines of the night was comparing Jennifer Hudson to Al Gore. America didn’t vote for Hudson on American Idle and America did vote for Gore, but that didn’t stop them both from being nominated for Oscars (and later won). She called nominees out relentlessly, but also knew her audience well enough to hit home runs when it mattered. The end of her opening monologue bringing out the Soweto Gospel Choir was a bold move (don’t know if it was her idea or not), and one that also fit in well with the diversity theme. During the show, the shadow dancers were awesome, the special effects choir was mind-boggling and the musical clown skit with Will Farrell was hysterical. While many people I asked didn’t see the commercials thanks to Tivo and DVR, they missed out on an incredibly creative campaign from Apple for the iPhone. I’ve embedded the video below. Finally, to end the night, my friends and I went outside for a monster snowball fight that drew in neighbors as well as passing cars and trucks. All in all, that’s gotta be one of the most fun Academy Awards shows of all time.