Post Oscar Tristesse

February 22 was the first Sunday of Lent, but I don't believe this was mentioned by Neil Patrick Harris or in any of the acceptance speeches.

The eighty-seventh running of the Academy Awards celebration dragged along predictably, apart from a few happy surprises, one of which wasn''t seeing the host in his jockey shorts. Who, we wondered, wanted to see Neil Patrick Harris in his underwear? Answer: Probably a lot of people.

But it was fun to see Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, and Jack Black as Kanye West. And who knew Lady Gaga could sing like that? The morning after, as usual, brought fashion writers trashing the dresses, but how about the guys' wardrobe choices? The Vancouver Sun had a nice line about Jared Leto looking as though dressed for a 1978 high school prom, but we remember how people looked at 1978 high school proms, and not one was wearing white high-tops. As for David Oyelowo's three-piece maroon tuxedo, Manny Goodman of the Jazzmanian Devils suggested that he looked like the maitre d' at a Willy Wonka theme restaurant. And then there was Benedict Cumberbatch, channeling "Casablanca" in his white shawl lapel dinner jacket.

But on to the great moments.

Neil Patrick Harris's best line: Telling Eddie Redmayne that his job was, every five minutes, to wake up Robert Duvall.

Best acceptance speech: The guy who said. "I want to thank my dog, Larry."

Best pregnant pause: Sean Penn's, before revealing the winner of the best picture award.

Best bit of business: Benedict Cumberbatch pulling a silver flask from his dinner jacket, recalling a revered archbishop's advice on "the wisdom of always carrying your own flask."

Gotta say, some of us still missed Seth MacFarlane. But maybe not many of us.

And then there were some who skipped the show altogether, being tuned instead to the curling championships in Moose Jaw. Or better, catching a rerun of a Simpsons episode in which the family goes to a book fair, and is greeted by Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Amy Tan and John Updike, all speaking in their own voices.

A great moment for Updike. Maybe he didn't get the Nobel, but he did get a bit on "The Simpsons."