Jon Stewart Pushes the Envelopes

One of the beautiful aspects of our culture," wrote Jon Stewart in a Woody Allen-esque essay in his Allenesque 1998 collection, Naked Pictures of Famous People, "is the capacity we have to forgive, especially those in the public eye."

Forgetting for a moment that sentence introduced a piece called "Adolf Hitler: The Larry King Interview", the point is--does Jon Stewart need forgiveness for his hosting job on last year's Academy Awards telecast? And does he deserve the flaccid but still palpable paddling he's getting from some quarters? Okay, his viewership, at 38.9 million in America, was about a million less than his predecessor Ellen DeGeneres, just as hers was down fom Chris Rock's 41.5 in 2005 and Rock's were down...you get the picture. It's a trend the Academy would rather not think about--though you know they are.

When apprised, Stewart had a typically deflecting quip at the ready-- "I'm thrilled to be asked to host the Academy Awards for the second time, because, as they say, the third time's a charm."--and Oscars producer Gil Cates, perhaps sounding just a tad defensive, threw out, "He is smart, quick, funny, loves movies and is a great guy. What else could one ask for?"

Well, if you post a note in a laundromat looking for someone to split the rent, not much. But some viewers (and re-viewers) said he was too soft on the Bush administration he'd made his bones trashing--just one Cheney joke, even after Dick hosed down his lawyer pal with hot lead?--and a little hard on the Hollywood liberal orthodoxy. (I know, boo-hoo). After we'd watched a nudging montage of "films that changed the world" (taking on racism, sexism, homophobia,etc.), Stewart took a pin to it: "And none of those issues were ever a problem again.''

English culture critic Xan Brooks, writing this week in The Guardian, recalled Stewart

Struggling through his opening monologue...[he] made the sort of gaffe that invariably spells death for any stand-up. "Come on," he groaned to the restless gallery. "This is good stuff." ...the problem was not the material; it was the audience.

Fittingly for an event that is organised and attended by Hollywood insiders, the Oscars think they know what they want until they actually get it. They want their big night to be like a celebrity roasting; sharp, and edgy, with egos pricked and feathers ruffled. With Jon Stewart they got a roasting too far. The guests responded to his potshots with nervous glances and pained frowns, and even that might have been OK. But Stewart not only poked fun at the Oscar hopefuls; he poked fun at the Oscars themselves...out in Rows A to Z, the guests did not know what to make of him. He was altogether too sour and sardonic; too New York for comfort.

The reviews of the broadcast were what are commonly described as "mixed". And yet, outside the media goldfish bowl, Stewart appears to have struck a chord. TV audiences liked him. Now, belatedly, the Hollywood establishment have decided that they did too.

Just as Stewart's typical figure of 1.5 million nightly Daily Show viewers takes as much as a 20 percent jump during the electoral brawl every four years ("Indecision `08" has already kicked in on his companion Colbert Report), his growing worldwide audience should spike thanks both to that and a naturally growing market penetration. In territories like Australia, where his show debuted in 2002 and has since been joined by The Colbert Report, he's widely available on CNN. (In fact, most markets that get CNN international, from Pakistan to the Philipines and most everything in between, including the American Forces network, can watch him at some stage during their television week.)

One thing that should help Stewart's perfomance this year is the length of prep time. He was notified just two months before last year's event, and though The Daily Show went dark for a week so he and longtime head writer Ben Karlin (who in August left for his own development deal at HBO) could go to the mattresses with some of his faithful writing staff, this year he'll be able to hone, one presumes, a keener edge.

There's another fun piece in Stewart's aforementioned book. It's called "The Recipe", which "comfortably serves three to four thousand with room for a television viewing audience." It at one stage advises, "ADD AUDIENCE APPLAUSE AND BOOMING INTRODUCTION OF THE WELL-RESPECTED, ACERBIC HOST...."

It then prescribes talking points for the host: "Recognition of power and ability among audience. Statement of fear over possible consequences failure to entertain said powers would entail..."

Stewart saw it all coming back in 1998. The Oscars may have their problems. But somehow, at least in his own assessment, I think Stewart's going to be fine.