hey will talk about it as the Year of the African-American. Halle wins, Denzel wins, Whoopi hosts. Sydney Poitier gets a tribute. Before that -- that comes at the end -- I am sitting in the living room with my roommate Kate and her son Michael, 13.
I try out an interview on them.

Q: What did you think of Whoopi's introduction?
Kate: I didn't mind it. I loved the outfit. I liked that she moved her ass and the feathers shook.
Michael: In the clever adaptation of ... never mind. Mine's gonna sound crappy.

That's okay. I'm out of questions already.
We eat pizza till our stomachs hurt and when the pain finally goes away, we drink good, soupy mint chocolate milkshakes and make our stomachs hurt even more. We like the Errol Morris documentary that opens the show, another oddball Morris piece that mixes up interviews with everyday joes and (unidentified) stars like Lou Reed and Christy Turlington and Jack Valenti. We laugh at Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller's comedy bit, and Kate wonders aloud why comedies like 'Zoolander' never get nominated when they're brilliant and I haven't seen 'Zoolander' but I say I don't think I'll like it as much and Kate says no, she thinks I'll like it a lot because it's got Owen Wilson and I like him, right? Right. Kate likes Whoopi. I'm so-so on Whoopi.
Beside the somber post-11 meanderings ("Does what we do matter anymore?" Tom Cruise ponders aloud in the opening moments. "Dare I say it? What we do matters even more.") the Oscars is a good show. The montages are smart and sophisticated. (After the Sydney Poitier tribute, I ask Kate, "Did that make you tear up?" Kate wipes tears from her eyes "Uh-huh," she says, and I am glad, because I thought I was the only one.) Maybe I'm a softie, but no one's dress strikes me as humiliating, no one's speech makes me cringe with embarrassment. It's kind of a classy, moving show. Even Woody Allen shows up.
"In the Bedroom" and "Moulin Rouge" don't win as much as I hoped for, and "A Beautiful Mind" wins more than I think it deserves. But then Ron Howard and Brian Grazer seem so giddy in their acceptance speech that I forgive them for all of it. Everyone is so giddy and grateful this year. That is the best.

Here is the complete list of Oscar winners in order of their announcement:

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Connelly

Film Editing
Black Hawk Down

Acheivement in Makeup
Lord of the Rings

Acheivement in Costume Design
Moulin Rouge

Achievement in Cinematography
Lord of the Rings

Best Documentary
Murder on a Sunday Morning

Best Documentary Short
Thoth

Art Direction
Moulin Rouge

Best Animated Feature
Shrek

Sound
Black Hawk Down

Sound Editing
Pearl Harbor

Best Supporting Actor
Jim Broadbent

Best Visual Effects
Lord of the Rings

Music Original Score
Lord of the Rings

Live Action Short Film
The Accountant

Best Animated Short Film
For the Birds

Best Song
Randy Newman

Best Adapted Screenplay
Akiva Goldsman, A Beautiful Mind

Best Original Screenplay
Julian Fellowes, Gosford Park

Best Foreign Language Film
No Man's Land

Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Redford

Best Actress
Halle Berry, Monster's Ball

Best Actor
Denzel Washington, Training Day

Best Director
Ron Howard

Best Picture
A Beautiful Mind