The 81st Academy Awards show Sunday night was a mixed bag of strange moments, multi-diverse celebrations, glamorous fashion and a first-time host that showed off his musical talents.

Musical Numbers Hit, Miss: Hugh Jackman wowed a tough crowd in his first outing as host of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, earning a standing ovation for an opening song montage that not only recognized the five Best Picture contenders, but made light-hearted fun out of the bad state of the world's economy.

Well enough should have been left alone. A bad musical number 90 minutes into the show starring Jackman, Beyonce Knowles, the kids from "High School Musical," and cast members from "Mamma Mia!" was supposed to have us cheering that the "musical was back," but the Baz Lurhmann-choreographed spectacular proved as disjointed as the eccentric director's last film, "Australia."

A highlight of the song, however, was Beyonce tossing in a few notes of "At Last," a thumb of the nose to Etta James who was very vocal about the singer performing the classic number at the presidential inaugural ball. Take that, Etta.

Oscar Comes A Long Way: Penelope Cruz became the first Spanish woman to win an Oscar, while Best Original Screenplay Winner Dustin Lance Black, who won for "Milk," used his 45 seconds of fame to speak to all the gay and lesbian kids out there. "You are beautiful , wonderful creatures of value, and no matter what anyone tells you God does love you," said Black.

Strange Moments That Worked: Seth Rogen and James Franco starred in the satirical short film penned by Rogen and funnyman Judd Apatow. Two-time award winner cinematographer Januz Kaminski was priceless playing along with the joke. Was Kunio Kato, winner of Best Animated Short, channeling a Styx song in his acceptance speech? Well, a little bit, domo arigato is one of several Japanese phrases that translate to English as "thank you very much."

Strange Moments That Didn't Work: While Jack Black made an off-handed comment about DreamWorks: "Each year I do one DreamWorks project then take all the money to the Oscars and put it on Pixar," a camera flashed to a reaction of Angelina Jolie whose voice starred opposite Black in "Kung Fu Panda." Of course, the gasp heard around the world was built on tabloid rumor over the battle between Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, who was on stage as the co-presenter with Black.

Ben Stiller's riff on previous Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix's odd David Letterman appearance was comical when it began, but he made a mockery of the cinematography award as he continued his antics while poor Natalie Portman tried to read off the nominees. Those guys don't get enough screen time anyway, so Stiller should've stepped back after the initial joke wore off.

Kodak Moments: Five of the most wonderful actresses gathered on stage to give kudos to the Best Actress nominees. When Sophia Loren spoke directly to 15-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep, it was a fine television moment.

When an overwhelmed Kate Winslet searched the crowd for her father after winning the statue for Best Actress, she hoped she could find him by asking him to "whistle or something." He did.

A bit odd, but heartfelt was Mickey Rourke, wearing a necklace with a photo of his beloved dog Loki, who passed away six days ago. He told a reporter on the red carpet: "I said to myself, 'I would rather have Loki for another two years than have an Oscar." He didn't win the Oscar.