ABC/BOB D'AMICONo one knew what to expect with Seth MacFarlane as the 2013 Oscars host.
The Family Guy creator and known offender kept people on the edge of their seats leading up to the big show. Was he going to push it? Was he going to get bleeped the whole show? How bad will it be?
Turns out his hosting gig mainly consisted of some song and dance (at times about boobs), with just a hint of below-the-belt jabs.
So was MacFarlane a hit or miss? Here are what the early reviews have to say...
•"Uh-oh. Seth MacFarlane opens the show with a lame joke. No one laughs. He does an impression. No one knows who he's imitating. Does this guy even have any experience doing standup? Obviously not. This is one of the lamest show openings I've ever watched. The worst part is that Seth is killing every punchline by laughing over it. And here comes the inevitable Mel Gibson putdown," Nikki Finke from Deadline said. "This is going to be a loooooong night. 'The room is dead,' says one agent from inside the Dolby Theatre."
•"The worst thing I can say about this year's Oscar opening? This was originally supposed to be a list of Seth MacFarlane's best jokes," Tim Molloy from TheWrap stated. "He delivered the Oscars producers pretty much exactly what they signed up for, because it felt an awfully lot like a Family Guy episode—a few jokes, some 'zany' pop culture references, some music, and a gay-panic joke."
•Chuck Barney from Mercury News wrote, "Some feared that MacFarlane would take the Ricky Gervais route and spend the night tossing barbs at Hollywood's elite, but he mainly turned the jokes in on himself. It was a nice touch of self-effacement, but also provoked the question: When did this night become about him?"
•"In an opening monologue and package of song-and-dance numbers obviously calculated to live up to, and even lampoon, his own reputation for pushing the boundaries of taste, MacFarlane put his biting, edgy brand of humor front and center," Steve Gorman of Reuters stated.
•Roberto Blanco from USA Today mentioned that it seemed MacFarlane used the awards show as an audition for his own variety show, but added, "Give this to MacFarlane: He threw everything he had at it. He dressed up like The Flying Nun. He played with sock puppets. He radiated charm, if not cool. And, of course, he told jokes. A tad nervously, perhaps, but he did manage to land a fair number of them. He even got Tommy Lee Jones to laugh at a joke about getting Tommy Lee Jones to laugh, which has to count for something. Oh, and he sang and danced. A lot."
How do you think Seth MacFarlane did as the Oscars host? Sound off in the comments!