ABB (Anybody but Billy)

Billy Crystal is hosting the Oscars. Yawn. Obviously, he gets ratings or they wouldn't have him back. But count me in the minority of people who like their entertainment a little edgier and a little more honest.

And by honest I mean, c'mon, let's be honest: Anyone at the Oscars is lucky to be there. Sure, acting is tough work and a serious craft, but anyone who does it for a living should understand the privilege of getting gobs of money and fame for it. An awards show should celebrate the hard work of making movies. Key word: celebrate. Read: Have fun. Stop being so serious at the show. It's a party.

Sure, Billy Crystal's opening sequences are the stuff of legends. But after that, it's back to vanilla vaudeville jokes. The Oscars I loved featured people like David Letterman (Uma-Oprah,)  Steve Martin (Everyone here is gay,) Steve Martin with Alec Baldwin, Ellen DeGeneres, Jon Stewart, and Chris Rock.

People with a little more depth, a little more edge, and yes, people that aren't so serious.  Maybe some of their jokes made a few people uncomfortable, but they were funny.  They were entertaining...and they were JOKES.  Tell the actors and actresses who got upset to go home and cry on their bags of money.  And let us peasants be entertained between self-indulgent speeches instead of hearing jokes out of a yard sale joke book.

So, dear Oscar, for your consideration, next year give us ABB (anybody but Billy)  And maybe not James Franco and Anne Hathaway, either.