The blogosphere is abuzz from last night's MTV Movie Awards, and it's not because MTV viewers are all huge Twilight fans (I'll let you guess that particular demographic). True, the vampire movie based off of Stephanie Meyer's novels absolutely slayed the competition -- which shouldn't come as a surprise since the fans are the voters -- but that's not the big news from the night. Rather, the sheer fact that the MTV Movie Awards were funny and enjoyable to watch is the big storyline from Sunday night. Andy Samberg shined as host, letting his Lonely Island comic sensibility run things for the night to great aplomb. Leave it to Sacha Baron Cohen, however, to steal the show and provide us with the most talked about point from last night.
The stunt in question involved Cohen dressed as his alter-ego Bruno, an Austrian fashionista bent on providing those same awkward moments that Borat made ever so popular years before. Set to present the best male performance award, Cohen -- in character as Bruno -- was rigged to fly over the audience and onto the stage. Things, however, didn't quite work out as planned, and he made a surprise appearance in one particular guest's lap. See for yourself:
When I saw this happen, I said to myself, "When did Eminem get so pretty? I mean, it looks like he's had work done and that he's wearing extensive makeup." He's a bit of a diva now, and if his reaction is genuine, which many people are debating today, then that just solidifies it. Personally, his initial reaction seemed to me that he was unaware of what was going to happen, but his camp has come out and said that he was in on the joke. In any case, Cohen knows how to push buttons, and this is another perfect example of his rogue comedic sensibility.
The opening montage of the MTV Movie Awards was pretty funny, as they usually are, with Samberg starring in scenes from Slumdog Millionare, Twilight, Star Trek (what up, Aziz?), The Reader (who knew MTV fans got down with post-WWII dramas like that?) and a little scene with Justin Timberlake himself. Samberg was at his best when he was able to riff on audience members during his opening monologue -- like Megan Fox and Leighton Meester -- and incorporate SNL cast member Fred Armisen into his rap, implying that Armisen parties too much and needs an intervention. Brilliant.
High School Musical 3 joined Twilight as the big award winners of the night, as if that really means anything. Plenty of stars were out to have fun and enjoy the night, and some even got to play along with the festivities -- like Jim Carrey accepting his award to an inner-monologue and Keifer Sutherland breaking down at the thought of Ben Stiller's acting in his more infamous scenes from There's Something About Mary and Meet The Parents. One of the night's more festive segments was when LeAnn Rimes, Chris Issak and Forest Whitaker all joined in on the "Andy Samberg Melody," crooning some of his and The Lonely Island's more infamous hits like "Jizz In My Pants," "I'm On A Boat" and "Dick In A Box."
All in all, the 2009 MTV Movie Awards were rather enjoyable, something I knew was possible when they tapped Samberg to host, yet something that still had to come across to us viewers on Sunday night. It was plenty evident that MTV hit a home run with Samberg, and that solid choice helped move things smoothly along for the 2 hours the MTV Movie Awards lasted. I think "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions" digital short pretty much summed it up. Enjoy:
