Michelle Obama's Surprise Oscar Appearance Sure to Inflame the Right

Ha! Instantly I was sure--and my Twitter feed was sure too--that the surprise appearance of First Lady Michelle Obama during the Best Picture award presentation of the Academy Awards would send the right wing into orbit. Good, let them stew. She was lovely. She had a gorgeous gown on. She was introduced by Jack Nicholson. And she was introducing the award for Argo as Best Picture, a film about behind-the-scenes daring-do during the Carter administration. Again, ha!

Aside from all of that, the Oscars was--as it usually is--a blend of comedy, variety, hokum, cheese, pageantry, out-of-place production numbers, excruciating acceptance speeches, live faux pas, and the seemingly inevitable bad audio (WTF is that about?). Host Seth MacFarlane is polarizing from the start, and was bound to create controversy of his own. But he's also a mulch-talented performer, and I was mostly cool with his patter. The opening was slow and flat--as it was clearly supposed to be--to be interrupted by William Shatner as James T. Kirk, coming back from the future to warn MacFarlane of his pitfalls as host. The show got better from there, though it suffered--again, as it always does--from just too much stuff.

I think the "In Memorium" segment gave too many deceased celebrities were overlooked (Andy Griffith?), and the tributes to Chicago were curious. But I thought it was okay, if overlong. They steam-rollered it at the end, to wrap things up, which was appreciated. And MacFarlane--who will be vilified and trashed over this, no doubt--was actually better than he will be remembered for.

[Excerpt]

Michelle Obama makes surprise Oscars appearance

 . . .Appearing via streaming video from the White House, Mrs. Obama said all of the nominees demonstrated that "we can overcome any obstacle." She said that message is "especially important for our young people" and thanked Hollywood for encouraging children "to open their imaginations. . ."

Read more at:  CBS News