Freelancette

I was thrilled to hear that Ellen DeGeneres was going be the second-ever female host of the Academy Awards (the first being Whoopi Goldberg, of course). Some may grumble that this selection was a bit of a cop-out, since Ellen, like Whoopi, is a non-threatening, apolitical lesbian who would be guaranteed to wear unisex ensembles onstage and flirt innocuously with both men and women on camera. In other words, she's not exactly a Venus in chiffon. If I didn't like Ellen so darn much, I might be inclined to agree with these complaints. We make such a big deal about the actresses in their gorgeous dresses –- why not let one of those sparkly gowns take center stage for the entire night? Why relegate the decorated ladies to the decorative roles of presenters and escorts?

But let's face it: a tuxedo-clad lesbian comedian is still a bold departure from the typical tuxedo-clad male comedian who always receives the honor of hosting the show, so I'm going to view this as another step in the right direction. Let's hope that Whoopi and Ellen are paving the way for more women to emcee the event –- or even men who look and dress like women.

As usual, Ellen played successfully to both sides of her fan base: the Hollywood liberals in the audience at the Kodak Theatre, and the Will-&-Grace liberals (the ones who love gays as long as they stay in the television and out of the wedding chapels and churches) watching from home. Although the camera lingered on Ellen’s longtime girlfriend, the gorgeously glam Portia de Rossi, as the host launched into her monologue, Ellen kept yanking the focus back to the hetero faces in the crowd (“Leo is here. I don't have a joke. I just thought the ladies would want to look at him.”). She performed the obligatory mini-swoon at the sound of George Clooney’s name, but also gave an unusual and clever compliment to Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Recently voted People Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man to Play Truman Capote’”). At one point, it sounded like Ellen might even acknowledge her own role in the proceedings: “Let me say this: if there were no blacks, Jews or gays, there would be no Oscars!” But then she softened the observation with a tepid joke, “Or anyone named Oscar.”

While I’d like to see Ellen get a little edgier and more political, I’m also a sucker for those tepid jokes and her chatty, celebs-are-just-like us brand of humor. I thought Ellen looked gorgeous in both her scarlet pantsuit and her white satin tux, and I chortled when she pretended to pitch Martin Scorsese her screenplay, which she described as a cross between "Good Fellas" and "Big Momma's House" ("I'm calling it "Good Mommas").

Besides, Ellen wasn’t the only lesbian in the house last night –- Melissa Etheridge was also representing, and she clearly wasn’t worried about offending any daytime-television viewers. When it was announced that the music and lyrics Etheridge wrote for “An Inconvenient Truth” won "Best Original Song," she jumped up, whirled around, and planted her lips on her partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels. This wasn’t a familial peck, either. It was a tender, lingering, you-are-my-soulmate kiss, in full view of the cameras. Once Etheridge made it to the stage to accept her award, Michaels was the first person she thanked (Al Gore received a shout-out, too -– but his got cut short!). Etheridge’s behavior would have been outrageously bold if it hadn’t looked so natural and unforced.

Another emotion that seemed beautifully yet surprisingly natural was the outpouring of love for sixty-one-year-old British actress Helen Mirren. All year, it seems, Mirren has been basking in the kind of attention usually reserved for women one-third her age. And it’s not just her star turn in “The Queen” that has people talking. As Mirren floated down the red carpet at the beginning of the night, resplendent in her champagne-colored coif and coordinating gown, my boyfriend gasped, “Wow, she looks great!” (I must admit, it felt rather comforting to envy a much-older woman –- more aspirational than spiteful). He wasn’t the only guy to notice. In the middle of a spirited song-and-dance number about how comedians never win acting awards, Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly asked Mirren which party she was going to (she responded by pumping her fist in glee), before teasing, “Helen Mirren, that Oscar’s coming home with me… Helen Mirren is coming home with meeeee!” This chick really knows how to put the “sex” in “sexagenarian!" The icing on the cake came when Mirren paid homage to yet another grandmother grande dame while accepting her award for "Best Actress." Mirren saluted Queen Elizabeth II for maintaining “her dignity, her sense of duty and her hairstyle” for more than 50 years. “She’s had her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hat on her head, her handbag on her arm and she’s weathered many, many storms. ... If it wasn’t for her, I most certainly wouldn’t be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the queen," she said, holding the statuette out to the Botox- and collagen-pumped faces of the crowd.

In a discussion of great, stereotype-smashing, paradigm-breaking feminist Oscar moments, how could I neglect to mention "Best Supporting Actress" Jennifer Hudson? Even Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who once demanded that Oprah Winfrey would have to lose twenty pounds before she could appear on the cover, and who has been infamously accused of "not liking fat people," has embraced the gloriously Rubenesque Ms. Hudson –- who appears on the magazine's March cover, dressed to kill, with pounds intact. Hudson showcased her ample assets last night in two magnificent gowns with plunging necklines (she changed once for her "Dreamgirls" ensemble musical performance), implicitly encouraging woman around the world to flaunt what they've got. Hudson's acceptance speech was also brimming with gratitude for the inspirational women in her life, especially her grandmother.

Finally, I thought it was interesting that Milena Canonero, who won "Best Costume Design" for the extravagant, multi-layered sartorial confections in "Marie Antionette," was dressed in a modified tuxedo. Subversive? Subdued? Or simply practical?

Overall, this year's Academy Awards felt refreshingly egalitarian. There were still prom kings (George, Leo) and prom queens (Gwyneth, Cate), but the real royals of the evening were the unique, quirky nominees and attendees that didn't fit any stereotype (Ellen, Melissa, Jennifer, Helen… as well as Forest Whitaker and Alan Arkin). Ennio Morricone, the 78-year-old Italian composer of more than 400 film and TV scores, was honored for his musical compositions; Sherry Lansing, the first female head of a major movie studio, was recognized for her humanitarian efforts. At the beginning of the broadcast, Ellen mentioned the diversity in the room. She was talking about the different global geographies that were represented, but she could just as well have been alluding to the vastly different physical and sexual geographies.

So maybe it wasn't the most flashy or memorable or shocking Oscars presentation ever. But it was progressive and open-minded in a nicely understated way. And when it seems completely natural to wolf-whistle at senior citizens, to openly admire oversize figures, and to bestow affection on supportive partners (gay, straight or otherwise), that's something to get excited about.