Seth MacFarlane could well be the grit that turns the Oscars back to a pearl

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This article titled “Seth MacFarlane could well be the grit that turns the Oscars back to a pearl” was written by Peter Bradshaw, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 1st October 2012 19.08 UTC

What an inspired choice. The host of next year’s Oscars is to be Seth Macfarlane, the creator of TV’s American Dad and Family Guy and, on the big screen, Ted – his bad-taste comedy about male infantilism.

The Academy is now very much on the lookout for that most elusive and difficult quality: edginess. Something to please the young demographic. It can so easily go terribly wrong. James Franco, who was supposed to deliver this commodity by the truckload, went over pretty badly at the last Oscar ceremony, looking absent and bleary and maybe too cool for school, while his trouper co-host Anne Hathaway, as pundits approvingly phrased it, “worked her tush off”.

Then there’s Britain’s own Ricky Gervais who has, with chutzpah amounting to genius, made a gobsmacking success of his high-wire act at the Golden Globes two years in a row, cheekily disrespecting the superstars in the room. They were prepared to be good sports and laugh – just about – in a way they might not for an home-grown presenter. Could he have presented the Oscars? Well, he has announced that the 2013 Golden Globes were not for him, perhaps shrewdly quitting while he was ahead. And even if there were any question of Gervais getting the Oscars gig, he would surely be aware that he would have to dampen his act and get bad press. It would be all downside.

A brainier choice might have been liberal talk-show host Jon Stewart, who did it in 2007 and 2005; he has the smarts – but perhaps the showbiz sparkle wouldn’t be there. Would it all be a little Public Radio? And could Stewart, if required, carry a tune? Alec Baldwin, Ellen DeGeneres and Chris Rock have all served their time, and of course the reliable old stagers Steve Martin and the great Billy Crystal himself have answered the call recently.

But there is a persistent worry that the Oscar telecast simply can’t get the ratings that it once did. In the all-important 18-49 age-range, the 2012 show got 14.9 million viewers, as opposed to a whopping 113 million for the Super Bowl.

And this is where MacFarlane comes in, someone with both television and movie credentials. He’s a massively successful writer and comic, with a geeky love of Star Wars and a connection with the fans. But he also has what the industry calls the chops, almost eerily presentable, like a hyperreal young Gene Kelly. A few years ago, he sang Singin’ In The Rain at London’s Royal Albert Hall with almost casual ease. He’s hosted the Emmys and a Comedy Central roast for Charlie Sheen.

Now the only worry is that the sheer gravitational force of Hollywood will drag MacFarlane into a kind of comedy pastiche blandness. His brilliance in voice work and impersonation, and his great love of show business and the Tinseltown ancestor-worship which can overwhelm even the coolest person on Oscar night, could turn him into a game-show host with PG-13 gags. But MacFarlane might well be the grit to make this year’s Oscars a pearl. Let’s hope.

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