Oscar 2011: Hosts Anne, Franco Panned As "Boring"

Highlights

• Anne Hathaway put up a stunning display of couture gowns while hosting the glitzy 83rd Academy Award ceremony with James Franco, but the eight costume changes failed to impress critics, who have panned the show as "boring" and "painful".
• The actress sang and danced through the ceremony, which also saw Franco dress in drag as Marilyn Monroe, but the efforts fell flat with the duo receiving scathing reviews.
• The New York Times said that "the prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful" at times, while the Boston Herald remarked sourly that "references to the Internet, apps and Facebook do not make a show trendy, or alas, entertaining."
• But Hathaway's fashion choices were impressive. She walked the red carpet in a Valentino and even had the designer himself on hand in case of a red carpet emergency.
• She then slipped into a silver-tasselled Oscar de la Renta, a sapphire satin Giorgio Armani, a Vivienne Westwood corseted ball gown and a burgundy silk gown by Atelier Versace, during the night.
• She wore a custom made Lanvin tuxedo for the cross dressing spoof and Hathaway opened and close the ceremony with intricately beaded dresses, including a cream-coloured strapless Givenchy Haute Couture gown and a slinky Tom Ford smoky grey laced and crystal adorned gown.
• The display seems to have impressed Entertainment Weekly, which said that Hathaway, 28, and Franco, 32, were "marvelous Oscar hosts" calling them "funny, poised, relaxed, and smart."
• Producers of the Oscar telecast had been hoping that the duo might lure younger viewers who have increasingly tuned out the Oscars in recent years.
• "Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip," Franco deadpanned as the show opened.
• "Oh, thank you, James," said Hathaway adding, "You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well."
• Hathaway is the youngest person to host the show, which was broadcast live in more than 200 countries worldwide.