No-Win Situation

Perhaps the highest profile job in show biz is hosting the Oscars. But doing it well is a tightrope walk that defeats most applicants.

The trouble is you've got what is essentially a boring show, outside about 8 awards, that is stretched out over 3+ hours. You've got to move things along (an impossibility in itself) and be funny. And not just funny--David Letterman was funny. You've got to be classy, too, since movie people take themselves seriously. But get too serious and you end up being pompous.

Jon Stewart was just chosen as host. He seems like a good choice, but then again, so did Chris Rock last year. Rock, at his best, is funny and edgy. For whatever reason--bad material, or being handcuffed by Oscar tradition--he didn't deliver as expected. Stewart's in a similar bind. He's smart and witty, but the Oscars do things to hosts.

Making it worse, Stewart, host of The Daily Show, is best known for political humor. It's been (another) political year in Hollywood. If Stewart holds back and doesn't go for strong political material, he'll disappoint a lot of people. But if he goes for the jugular too often, he may not be "classy" enough for the show--the winners are supposed to be the story, not the host.

Anyway, break a leg.