Rarely do I agree with Washington Post television critic Tom Shales -- in fact, I think his assessment of Chris Rock's performance last night as "strangely lame and mean-spirited" is, in fact, a triumph of artistic self-description.

But Shales' column today goes to show that even a broken clock can be right twice a day, because he certainly nailed last night's Oscar self-indulgence fest.

Yes, the event seemed "politically correct" -- and, above all, yes, the reason is that "[t]here can't really be great Oscar shows without great movies." This year's movies were far from great, as I point out in my weekly column.

More than that, last night's shows were further evidence -- as if any were needed -- that actors do best when they stick to the scripts drafted by others. Robin Williams' gratuitously off-color rant was hardly fodder for family hour, and only provoked wistful wishes that he had kept on his mouth the tape that was there when he emerged (a symbol of "protest" of ABC's decision not to broadcast an even more insulting, off-color song). Chris Rock couldn't get around his obsession with race, or with bad taste (the only charming moments he had were his two self-deprecating jokes).

The Oscars are a waste of time -- as are the overwhelming majority of films that they "celebrate." Particularly this year.