Oscar blogging

Those of you who know me well know that I'm a movie and TV junkie. When I was a little kid, I wanted to grow up to be a movie star and the President of the United States. In no particular order. I was always interested in acting and made sure to steal the spotlight wherever it stood to be stolen (case in point: an old old old home movie -- I think I'm about 6 or 7 -- in which Dad was taping me and my brother and sister playing in our covered patio back in Selmer, TN. We were playing with large inflatable dinosaurs our youngest, then-single uncle had gotten us for Christmas. I think Mom was not too happy with him. Dad came in with the movie camera and started taping. I saw an opportunity to ham it up for posterity and proceeded to narrate our activities in story form. Dad and the movie camera weren't interested, and instead followed my painfully shy towheaded two-year-old sister around as she slinked in vain away from the camera's blinking red eye. I was good enough to come to my sister's rescue by following the camera everywhere and jumping in front of it as soon as it settled in any one place for more than a moment. Yes, I am a good sister).

Anyway, Mom and Dad were not such big fans of my Hollywood hoop dream. Mom grew up in Hollywood and hates the place and everything it stands for, even though as a child she counted among her friends Stacy York (Dick York's daughter) and Rita Wilson. I'm not a hundred percent sure what Dad's issue with it was -- probably had something to do with it not being a legitimate career choice, or something.

So, I never got the acting classes I wanted. Never got to join the drama groups I was interested in. Never got to go to casting calls or auditions. In fairness, it was probably for the better, as being a lawyer ended up being a pretty sound career calling. But still, my childhood dreams never came to fruition. Sigh.

Still, I've always enjoyed Oscar season. The tiny bit of girly-girl that remains in my system LURVES getting dolled up. Every time I have an excuse to buy a formal dress, I take it. Seriously -- any LA girls out there, around a size six, if you're looking for a gently used and fashionable formal dress to borrow, I can hook you up. Oscar night is when Hollywood is at its best. Everyone makes nice, everyone looks his or her prettiest, there's music, there's money -- it's one of those fancy occasions us normal peeps only wish we got more often.

Strangely enough, though, I've never actually been to an Oscar party. I don't think I've ever missed the Oscars (at least since age ten or so), but I always watch them at home. When I lived with my parents it was one of those things where, occasionally my brother or sister would be interested, but usually I would have to cajole the family into putting it on Oscar channel and they would take potshots at my favorite movies/actors. Ahhhh, growing up loved...

Now that I've lived alone for a while, while I enjoy the comfort and privacy of my own home, I kind of miss having people around to tease me when Leonardo DiCaprio is sitting there, un-nominated for Titanic (in my sixteen-year-old world this was a *travesty*) or when the unparalleled Joaquin Phoenix was robbed following his brilliant work in Gladiator (far superior to Russell Crowe's even though Crowe actually won). And there's nothing like having someone to laugh with you at the ridiculous and fun moments that pop up during the Oscars -- especially when people break with the script. In my mind one of the funniest Oscar moments was when Mike Myers subtly poked fun at behind-the-scenes folks. Yes, they matter. Yes, they're very important. Yes, movies would suck without them. But the fact is, they're not the ones we tune in to see at the Oscars. That they bristled at his hilarious teasing only makes them that much less entertaining.

So tonight I'll be watching the Oscars alone. Current Squeeze -- who is an actor of all things, lol -- is out of town so I'm back to my more recent trend of watching the Oscars alone and laughing out loud with no one but my neighbors to hear me. But it's okay. At least I can do my ridiculous victory dance when Joaquin Phoenix wins tonight.