Hathaway and Franco to host Oscars. Wait, Really?

Depending on the host, the Oscars have tried stand-up, Broadway showcase, fake news and sketch comedy. This year, the Academy Awards are recreating the one genre that always draws an audience: the romantic comedy.

That's got to be the reason behind the selection of Anne Hathaway and James Franco as this year's hosts. Together they promise ratings, a younger audience and fewer Tums for producers. After years of mixed reviews and controversial hosts, two young, Crest-White-Strips-pretty, stars who are likely to stay on- book during the show must seem like a great idea for anxious show-runners. But not so much for viewers.

What happened to John Stewart? Steve Martin? Heck, Whoopi? The types of hosts who aren't afraid to rip into their colleagues sitting in the audience or skip their lines in favor of a raunchy political joke? The Hathaways and Francos, on the other hand, are relegated to walking the red carpet, introducing the short documentaries and weeping through acceptance speeches. Both actors may be talented but they're not comics or veteran showmen. And they're far too young and eager to insult their fellow celebrities, at least to their face. Unfortunately, those are the news-making moments we've come to rely on once a year.

This year, the tension will be primarily sexual--in a Rom-Com way. She's the girl next door who's been hurt before. He's the rebel with the drive to be more than just a pretty face. Expect her to fake trip on her dress, expect him to fake catch her. Tack on a Motown song and an adorably precocious orphan and we've got a hit. Or do we? I love a romantic comedy as much as anyone. I particularly like the bad ones. But a live version--complete with staged pratfalls and happy endings?

Call me old-fashioned, but I would have pushed harder for Kathy Griffin.