The 82nd Academy Awards, which saw Hollywood's star comedians Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin joining hands as hosts, turned out to be disappointing with public rating it as "unimaginative" and "drag".
Early response to a poll by
Los Angeles Times asking the viewers yielded
disappointing results with nearly 60 percent giving the Academy Awards telecast a C grade or lower.
"It had lots of low points, starting with that awkward opener," the newspaper said.
The show opened with a feathers-and-showgirls musical number 'No One Wants To Do It Alone', led by TV star Neil Patrick Harris.
Martin and Baldwin, who were last seen together in rom-com 'It's Complicated', were rated "OK" as hosts with viewers saying they expected more from the comic duo.
"A few of their gags were good, like when they donned 3-D glasses to see 'Avatar's' James Cameron in the audience. But most jokes were weak," the newspaper added.
According to BBC news, the duo's jokes veered "crazily from the almost dangerously dark and pointed, to the sort of ludicrously banal stuff that has all the side-splitting mirth of a car accident."
There were a lot of digs at the stars in the audience which were not taken too sportingly.
"Look, there's that damn Helen Mirren," said Martin. "Steve, that's Dame Helen Mirren," Baldwin corrected.
Then while inviting the presenters, Martin said, "He directed A Single Man, and she weighs a single pound: please welcome Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker."