Kristen Chenoweth

The top knot may have been kind of severe, but I think an updo IS the right choice for this gown, which fit her beautifully. She managed to stand out without drowning anyone else, which is a tough task for an interviewer. It helps that she's four-foot-nothing. A hundred and nothing. She's the Rudy of actresses, except she's actually also really good at what she does, and the movie of her life story will not include a made-up scene where all the other Wicked actors lay down their costumes in protest of her being stuck in the chorus.

Kristen Chenoweth

She looked nice here, too. Man, this was awkward. They couldn't show any crowd shots, because you know the entire audience was busy getting the hell out of there so they could drink at the parties; ergo I am imagining Cheno trying to keep that smile on her face while watching everyone's backs and a bunch of seat-fillers scurrying to fill in the blanks. At least her dress is foxy.

Kristen Chenoweth

This dress from this angle does nothing for me, particularly. It's a "very nice, okay, thanks for coming, NEXT."

Kristen Chenoweth

But I like it much better from the back -- the way it births the white train is interesting. Unfortunately you never want to look BETTER while walking away from someone, unless that someone is your ex.

Oscars Mostly Well Played: Kristen Chenoweth

You know, Cheno did a pretty good job with her hosting duties for ABC. She managed to be enthusiastic, conversational, spontaneous, and also real, like when she kept falling out of her heels and eventually gave up and took them off completely. She's a little Actressy at times -- there were moments where I expected her to stretch out an arm and sweep it around herself in a half-circle -- but I'd rather that than some of the alternatives. Basically, she was fun on-camera, and she seems like she'd be SUPER fun off-camera, where we could get real for a second and gossip and talk about whether hair extensions burn as quickly as I imagine. [Photos: Getty]