Alessandra Stanley discusses the presence of social causes, notably gay rights, in last night's ceremony. Citing Jared Leto's impassioned acceptance speech for “Dallas Buyers Club” and Ellen DeGeneres's playful allusions to her sexuality on stage, she writes: “Hollywood is so righteous, suddenly, about gay rights, and that”s a little puzzling because for so long, movies were part of the problem. Professional basketball has its first openly gay player, Jason Collins, but it”s still hard to think of romantic leads – male or female – who are A-list Hollywood movie stars and also openly gay.” [New York Times]
Critics may be unsure of DeGeneres, but audiences aren't: last night's ratings are the best since the last ceremony she hosted. [Hollywood Reporter]
Why the host's emphasis on social media was a savvy move. [LA Times]
Ramin Setoodeh, meanwhile, thinks she's the best fit for the job since Billy Crystal. [Variety]
Mark Harris declares last night's show, for better and worse, a low-energy end to a bad-energy season. [Grantland]
Dana Stevens thinks Lupita Nyong'o schooled Matthew McConaughey in the art of acceptance speeches. [Slate]
Nathaniel Rogers rounds up some trivia tidbits about this year's winners — I hadn't realized until now that Cate Blanchett and Matthew McConaughey are the same age. [Film Experience]
Finally, moving away from Oscar talk, Amy Nicholson wonders what killed the romantic comedy. [LA Weekly]