The Good, the bad and the Ugly

Fug or fab? CultureMap dishes on Oscar fashion as it happens

Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Miley Cyrus
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Anna Kendrick
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Zoe Saldana
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Mo'Nique, Sidney Hicks
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

7:07: Ok everyone, we're going to turn this over to Joe Leydon for the ceremony commentary. Catch us on the flip side! -SR

‪‪7:04: I think my favorites are Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Demi Moore, Carey Mulligan and Elizabeth Banks. As far as fugs, Sarah Jessica Parker's dress did NOT work for me. -SR‬

7:04: Favorite? Meryl Streep!! Fug? Squiddy Vera. Yours? - CG

7:01: Ok, that's it for E!, (although we are watching on ABC now)... Caroline, any favorites? Any standout fugs?‬ -SR

6:58: I haven't seen Cameron Diaz's hair so long since The Mask, but it looks so pretty. Hers is one of my fave golden gowns of the night. -SR‬

6:52: Kate Winslet-- is that pants? A romper? It's undeniably Katherine Hepburn-ish, but please for the love of Oscar let that be a skirt. -SR‬

6:52: Jeff Bridges' wife is so utterly lovely! She seems so enamored, and after 30-plus years, that's adorable. - CG

6:49: Gerard Butler had me at the Scottish accent. You had me. at. the accent. -SR‬

6:41: Demi Moore in a messy, rose-hued column—gorgeous, perfect, simply stunning. -SR‬

6:38: Kristen Stewart looks lovely!! Her dress isn't particularly notable, but her apparent brief respite from constipation is! ‪‪‪‪‪‪Sarah seconds. - CG

6:33: Loving J-Lo's structured, abstract art-ish dress, Gaborey Sidibe's embroidered blue gown, and Rachel McAdams ethereal, swishy number. -SR‬

6:30: Also I don't think soft pink is her color. She should stick to brights. -SR

6:29: Poor Queen Latifah. Nothing makes you feel like a B-lister more than Seacrest interrupting your interview to chase George Clooney. -SR‬

6:29: Elisabetta Canalis, you are not the first (cough, Sarah Larson) and I am willing to bet, you will not be the last. - CG

6:25: After careful thought, I disagree with Caroline that Vera Farmiga's dress looks like squid tentacles. She looks like the tourist-trap flamenco performers in Seville. -SR‬

6:26: George Clooney is doing a good job of representing the old school — signing autographs for plain 'ol fans. Me likey. - CG

6:23: I just read that Mo'Nique is wearing the white flower in her hair as a tribute to Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win an Oscar. I liked it before, but I reaally like it now. -SR‬

6:18: A room-wide outcry at Charlize Theron's dress. Even Zoe (Sarah's pup) is appalled. - CG

6:17: Seacrest looks sooooooo tiny next to Kathryn Bigelow. Homegirl is looking fine as well. -SR‬

6:16: Caroline would like to register a public disagree with Sarah's assessment of SJP's gown. I think it's darling. - CG

6:10: Is Miley Cyrius just wearing an uglier version of Sandra Bullock's dress? p.s. Miley—my mother called and says stand up straight. -SR‬

6:14: Oh, SJP. No, No, honey. No. -SR

6:13: I adore Kathryn Bigelow's gown. Also, Ryan Seacrest can barely disguise his disdain for the Cyrus clan and the matriarch's back tats. - CG

6:05: Tim McGraw on Quenton Aaron, "People don't know how good he really is. He's actually a 5'8" white guy." Funny! - CG

6:04: Ryan Seacrest, do not ask the starlet's what their dress is made of! We're lucky they know who made it. -SR‬

6:03: Faith Hill's sheer bustier is a little too much CMAs, not enough Academy Awards. This ain't Nashville... -SR

6:02: This new red-carpet sports-esque technology is cracking me up. I feel like Jay Emanuel is about to tell us who is going to run an interception. - CG

5:59: Still not feeling the gold lamé vibe of Sandra Bullock's skirt, but the top detailing and her hot pink lips are super pretty. -SR‬

5:58: Diane Kruger is one of those true fashion girls who is always exciting to watch. But this weird black and cream Victoriana... as Randy Jackson would say, I'm just not feelin it, dawg. -SR‬

5:59: Where is your precious umbrella holder, Diane Kruger? - CG

5:56: I think Amanda Seyfried just punched her ticket to the fashion A--list. -SR‬

5:56: Dear Carey Mulligan, thank you for for ONCE having your breasts and waist defined where they acutally reside on your body. - CG

5:50: Sandra Bullock appears to have subscribed to the philosophy about dressing like an Oscar to make the universe give you one. -SR‬

5:50: Zoe Kravitz is so grown!! And so stunning! We like seeing her sophisticated instead of unshowered. - CG

5:48: Older, goregous and elegant redheads get me confused. Constantly getting Susan Sarandon and Sigourney Weaver confused. - CG

5:43: As long as we are trying to steal some hot men back onto our team, I'd like to humbly request Neil Patrick Harris. -SR‬

5:43: As a man-loving woman, Tom Ford's looks seem like such a waste. Le Sigh... - CG

5:40 Maggie Gyllenhaal in print—Dries van Noten!— is soft and divine. She still has that different-ness that she likes but seems to have accepted a more mainstream Hollywood glam. -SR‬

5:39 I'm not usually into gray tones on the red carpet, but Elizabeth Banks's structured, slightly retro gown is simply stunning. -SR‬

5:36: And Tina Fey wears black. Shocking. - CG

5:34: Oh, Ryan Reynolds.... I have nothing to say about his tux, but damn he looks good in it. -SR‬

5:26: I know that structure is in, in, in, but Vera Farmiga looks like the underside of a squid's tentacle. - CG

5:26: Nicole Richie looks somewhat severe with her bun. I much prefer her usual loose hippy-chic waves. - CG

5:24: Mariah Carey did her whole "I want to be naked!" thing, but she actually looks classy and Oscar-appropriate. Methinks the navy color helps. -SR

5:20: Anna Kendrick, whose choices often confuse and bewilder me, looks gorgeous. -Caroline

512: Love the electric blue color of Mo'nique's gown! Maybe people will talk about how great she looks and not her unshaven legs this time. -SR

5:11: Hello, Culturemappers! Let's get ready for some fashion. Caroline and I are watching the E! Network live feed and ready to dish on the gowns. -Sarah

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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