Breakfast: Eggs Benedict

There is a point when self-promotion reaches used-car salesman territory. A blatant example of this occurred the night of the Academy Awards with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller promoting “Starsky and Hutch” on the red carpet.

Why do we need to be reminded of the ubiquitous film at the most prestigious awards show? Most of us have heard of the TV show “Starsky and Hutch” and if someone hasn’t heard of the movie, I doubt they watched the Academy Awards, because they don’t have a TV and/or live somewhere remote. Or, gasp, they don’t care.

Not only was this self-promo whoring inappropriate for the event, it wasn’t funny. As a friend pointed out about Stiller and Wilson, “They’re not stand-up comics, so how funny could they be?”

Owen Wilson making fun of Ben Stiller wearing his movie costume and not a tuxedo. Not funny. Owen Wilson giving Entertainment Tonight correspondent Maria Menounos a hard time and asking if her breasts were real. Not funny.

I don’t remember anything else because Owen Wilson was rambling on about nothing. Yes, he was long-winded each time he stole interview time reserved for nominees. Ben Stiller managed to get a few sentences in which was a miracle. Next time they should save their performance for when they are presenting. I was thoroughly bored with their shtick by then.

I found Owen Wilson to be affable before this incident, now I don’t have much respect for him. In fact, his shtick with Ben Stiller made me not want to see the movie. I also found his treatment of Menounos disgusting. Perhaps his behavior was a result of drugs or alcohol, but that’s no excuse.

I told another friend about my disinterest in the movie. She asked me, “What about Zoolander? Did you like it?”

Yes, I forgot they were both in it,” I said. Let’s hope for their careers that audiences don’t say the same thing about “Starsky and Hutch.”