Kennedy Center Honors 2009

CBS broadcast the 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors last night.

This year's honorees were Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck, Grace Bumbry, Robert De Niro, and Bruce Springsteen.

Hank Stuever, the Washington Post, previewed the program.

A few weeks after it's over, CBS dumps the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast into a dead zone of intra-holiday prime time as if it's a secret act of Yuletide programming charity instead of a proper tribute to the finest accomplishments in our nation's arts culture. Certainly the Honors broadcast (this year's installment is Tuesday night) is not usually a rollicking two hours for those at home who've misplaced their remote controls and are forced to watch it; adding to its mustiness would be all those commercials for Cadillacs and Plavix prescriptions.

But shame on you if you don't catch this one. "The 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors" comes along just when we most need a reminder of what quality, manners and showmanship are supposed to look like. We've got enough junk to chew on the rest of the year, and this year's Honors show provides more than its share of rare and exultant moments.

I'm generally no softy when it comes to ritual ceremony, but I was moved by each presentation and performance -- such as when Dave Brubeck's four sons play along during the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors' rendition of "Take Five." There's a lovely moment when the camera catches President Obama and the first lady moving their heads hypnotically to the jazz. Or when Mel Brooks, on the verge of tears, sits in that bright rouge opera box and mouths the words along to his "Springtime for Hitler" (sung by "Glee's" Matthew Morrison) and "The Inquisition" (sung by Richard Kind). The entire Opera House comes to an almost holy hush during the tribute to opera legend Grace Bumbry. Besides Brubeck and Caroline Kennedy, who delivers the perennially stiff opening remarks, Bumbry represents the last thread of connection the Honors crowd has to the actual Kennedy era (she performed at the White House in the Camelot days).

What works this year, obviously, is an increase in contemporary wattage. The more the Honors look to youngish recipients who are still practicing their craft, the better it seems. Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese are joined by Edward Norton, Sharon Stone and Ben Stiller to share their admiration for Robert De Niro. For the finale, Jon Stewart finds a perfect spot between reverence and giddy hero worship for Bruce Springsteen. ("I can tell you what I believe and what I believe is this: I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby.") Then comes a powerful tribute to the Boss from John Mellencamp, Melissa Etheridge, Sting (heavily bearded, looking like the Miner 49er) and a heavenly choir. Springsteen sits there, stunned silent with humility.

I agree with Stuever that this year's honorees were a brilliant group.

However, he hasn't done his research on the past honorees when he cites an "increase in contemporary wattage" and "youngish recipients" as reasons for the show being entertaining.

For example, when Elton John was honored he was 57. When Bob Dylan was honored he was 56. Aretha Franklin was 52. Stevie Wonder was just 49. Others recognized while in their 50s include Andrew Lloyd Weber, Beverly Sills, and Itzhak Perlman.

NONE of the 2009 honorees were under 60. Dave Brubeck is 89. Mel Brooks is 83. That's not exactly youngish.

And in terms of "contemporary wattage," younger artists have always paid tribute to the honorees. That's nothing new.

About that "lovely moment," when "the camera catches President Obama and the first lady moving their heads hypnotically to the jazz" -- The camera always catches the president and first lady reacting at these events. There have been 32 years of "lovely moments." Good grief.

I get the feeling that Stuever was impressed this year because he happens to be a fan of the honorees, those paying tribute to them, and Obama.

All in all, it was a very entertaining show as usual, though not entirely without imperfections.

---I was surprised that only one woman was chosen to be honored in 2009. Only one woman out of five honorees?

---The DeNiro segment was terribly brief.

---I also found the lengthy Springsteen segment inadequate. Members of the E Street Band were completely absent. Just passing shots of some of them were seen in the filmed tribute. That was it. It was wrong to omit them. They deserved to be honored as well, or at least mentioned.