Watching Jerry Lewis receive his humanitarian award at the Oscars tonight, I was struck by the swell of respect that I felt for this classic comedian, who had raised $2B for muscular dystrophy. Showing his first function in 1951 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (yes, 58 years ago), it was hard to pull back and enjoy the extravagance of the Oscars afterwards. On the other hand, seeing “Slumdog Millionaire” take home award after award with such honest dignity and a sense of humanitarian-meets-cinematic integrity was rewarding.  

What do Adrien Brody, Three 6 Mafia, and Shakespeare in Love have in common? They all won Oscars.  And you didn’t think they would. That’s right.  At the end of the day, the human brain is far too limited to ascertain with any true degree of certainty who will end up with the austere, naked, Bruce Willis-meets-the Tin Man-lookin’-fella at the end of the night.

But the thing is:  It feels really, really good when you’re right.