Canadians at the Oscars: Christopher Plummer and Justin Bieber edition

Last night at the 84th Annual Academy Awards, the Canadian quotient was at an impressive low (seriously, Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were nowhere to be found). That said, Christopher Plummer did take home Best Actor in a Supporting Role and appeared humbled by the honour (at 82, he’s the oldest actor to be awarded an Oscar); Cirque du Soleil performed an homage to the silent film era, complete with kooky expressions and what looked like jazz hands; and Justin Bieber made a cameo in host Billy Crystal’s Best Picture montage. Sadly, Monsieur Lazhar did not win Best Foreign Language Film. Of course, a number of things that have nothing to do with Canada also deserve mentioning: we confirmed that Billy Crystal isn’t funny to people under the age of 80; Angelina Jolie’s leg was a sight to behold; Emma Stone was positively charming; Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. proved—for the second time—that they have absolutely no onstage chemistry; and the Oscars really need to start thinking about taking a cue from the Golden Globes, because sitting through the painful staged banter requires alcohol (not little cellophane bags of popcorn).