Comedy, costumes and historic clips

After a super-cheesy cut-and-paste opening montage, comedian John Stewart took the stage for his monologue. It was on-point, not too long, got several laughs and was easy to swallow. He talked about the writer's strike, the best movie and actor nominees and, of course, politics. George Clooney appropriately introduced a tribute to 80 years of Oscars.
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" won best costume design. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway announced that "Ratatouille" won Best Animated Feature.