the 84th academy awards

"Oh my god the red carpet has started!" My friend who sat in front of me screamed as she scrolled down her twitter page on her phone. I immediately raised my hand and asked the waiter to bring the cheque. I was having a lovely sunday brunch with my friends as a part of our Oscar day, but we completely forgot the time. I paid my steak and bacon, finished my coffee, grabbed my Johnny Ramli clutch and strutted toward my friend's apartment to watch Hollywood's biggest event of the year, the Academy Awards. I haven't watch all of the movies that are being nominated at the 84th Academy Awards, but I was hoping my favourite heroine from The Help — Minny Jackson who is played by Octavia Spencer — would snap the golden statue from Best Supporting Actress nomination. Fortunately she did. And it looked perfect with her Tadashi Shoji gown.

It was a relief that I did not miss the red carpet. It is one of the sacred rituals in awards show and the Academy Awards' red carpet is probably at the peak of it. Most of the actresses looked stunning in their exceeding-my-card-limit dresses, but the biggest surprise of the night was Gwyneth Paltrow. She stepped down the glory carpet in an all-white Tom Ford gown and cape. The dress is plain gorgeous, and Paltrow's figure is right for almost everything, but the cape over it was extraordinary. She looked unusual and non-traditional (thank god!) for Academy Awards' red carpet yet it works. It is the opposite effect of Helena Boham Carter's out-of-the-box style. Kristen Wiig was also the unpredictable one. She was wearing a blush-y J. Mendel gown with her I-did-not-do-anything-with-my-hair hair and she looked effortlessly beautiful. It tops her Balenciaga look at the Golden Globe. Her look made me made-up a scenario for her Oscar's night-out: she wake up from her power nap, call a limo, pull off that J. Mendel from her closet, apply a Giorgio Armani luminous silk foundation on her face and Chanel glossimer on her lips, shake her hair, and rush to the limo outside her house. Not too fancy for a comedian. On the other hand, Angelina Jolie who always end up in best-dressed list, stunned me again last night. It was not something new from her, but she looked undeniably striking in her black strapless Atelier Versace. And I have not mention the dangerously sexy slit that showed off her dangerously sexy leg. I was not sure about Emma Stone's red Giambattista Valli dress when she was on the red carpet, but later on the stage, when she was charmingly joke about her first time presenting for the Academy Awards, I was completely spelled. A dress always look better with a personality indeed. Another comedian who dazed me was one of the fabulous casts of Bridesmaids, Rose Bryne. Her white Elie Saab jumpsuit at the SAG Awards buzzed the fashion industry and her black Viviene Westwood is doing it again. Just like the fashion industry, since I saw The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo I have been mesmerized by Rooney Mara's medieval look. She has the quality to create a bizarre moment in a high-fashion way like Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Haute Couture at the last year Academy Awards, but her first Academy Awards' red carpet was not at that point. The white Givenchy Haute Couture dress she wore last night has a potential to make her looks like a fashion gothic angel, but she looked like she was wearing someone else's gown. She looked drowned in it. Another disappointment was Viola Davis. Her decision to take a break from her wig was daring but her Vera Wang gown was definitely a mistake.

The vibe in my friend's room got more intense as the red carpet show ended. Because my friends and I did some bidding with some of the categories, so the pressure was unavoidable. I opened a bottle of Moscato to chill my nerve, while my other friends were busy filling the snack bowls. Fortunately, as soon as Justin Bieber popped up in the screen looking more feminine rather than masculine we all got carried away to the show. And Billy Crystal did a terrific job in enlivening the Academy Awards. Some of the highlights of the show were when Octavia Spencer win the Best Supporting Actress category. It was a joyous moment for her and for myself. I adored her performance as a strong-harassed maid in The Help. I was also charmed by Jean Dujardin's I-just-won-an-oscar aura during her acceptance speech for winning the Best Actor category. I immediately put The Artist on the top of my to-see list. However, Meryl Streep won her third Oscar was the peak of my happiness. I was upset when she did not win for her role in The Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia, but this pays off. There were no surprises with the Academy's choices, all of the winners deserve the recognitions.

As Tom Cruise announced the winner for Best Motion Picture, one of my friends mentioned that he was starving. Turned out it has been almost seven hours since our last meal and my stomach started to complain as well. I won two bidding last night, which were for the Best Actress and the Best Original Screenplay. The losers had to do a set of push-up or sit-up (I did two sets for losing the best Documentary Feature and Sound Editing) and I think that's why some of us were starving before the show even ended. Watching the Academy Awards together with friends was the most fun I had in weeks. Laughing to the casts of Bridesmaids's hilarious joke and arguing about whether Natalie Portman's vintage Dior dress reminds us of watermelon or not are things that I would love to have annually. Just like awards season. If we are going to do it again next year, three bottles of Moscato and more popcorn are required.