©Michael Caulfield/WireImage.comSo much heartwarming material, well, it'd make a good movie. Read on.
Most Freaking Awesome: Jon Stewart corrected what would have been a supremely cruel irony—the winner of Best Original Song being played off by her own composition—to bring 19-year-old Czech musician Markéta Irglová back onstage and let her give her speech. That was great on a whole bunch of levels.
(Slightly) Missed Opportunity: We were really wishing Irglová would have addressed the crowd in the Czech language, thereby making this one of the most multilingual of Oscars. But it was still awesome.
Memoriam Memory: We actually like this part of the show, and this year we learned something pretty cool: Stuntman Bud Ekins was the guy on the bike during the iconic motorcycle sequence from The Great Escape.
Ball Room: Did anyone else notice that right at the conclusion of Jon McLaughlin's performance of Enchanted’s “So Close,” a dancer’s head appeared to rise right from his crotch? We call that the magic of movies!
Best Guy Ever: Who does the Academy call to deal with the politically charged documentary awards, potential Michael Moore appearances and a satellite linkup with our American soldiers in Baghdad? That’s right, Tom Hanks. They should make that guy some kind of ambassador or something—he's a uniter.
—Filed by Erik Pedersen