LOS ANGELES, COMEDY STARS Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, the first duo to share the Oscar stage as co-hosts in the television age, traded punch lines and barbs as they gently roasted the Oscar 2010 nominees.

Working the room like a pair of Hollywood insider insult comics, Martin and Baldwin singled out many of the Oscar contenders for some light, deflationary ribbing, starting with each other. Baldwin introduced his partner as “one of the most enduring entertainers of all time, Mr Steve Martin.” Martin reciprocated by presenting his co-host: “And this is Alec Baldwin.”
Much of the evening’s humour continued in that vein, politely irreverent, at times silly and often self-deprecating on an institutional scale. Martin motioned in the audience to Sandra Bullock, a favourite to win the Oscar as best actress for The Blind Side. “Who doesn’t love Sandra Bullock,” Martin asked rhetorically, to which Baldwin answered archly, “Well tonight, we may find out.”
One of their favourite targets clearly was Meryl Streep, a best-actress hopeful for Julie & Julia with a total 16 Oscar nominations to her name, more than any other performer in history. “Meryl Streep holds the record for most nominations as an actress, or as I like to think of it, most losses,” Martin deadpanned, eliciting a hearty laugh from Streep herself.    

Steve Gorman
—Reuters