I admit that I was an early naysayer about the appointment of Ellen DeGeneres as Oscar host, but, in the face of the mixed reviews she's getting, let me offer some positive support — along with brutally honest appraisal.

No, Ellen wasn't great. She didn't dazzle or wow, but I don't think she was a big disappointment, which is what I'd feared early on. She didn't hold forth with authority and edge. No. And with the exception of her Al Gore joke at the start, we should all just drop a nuclear bomb on the rest of her monologue and forget about it, because we like Ellen so much personally. Let's do it as a favor to our TV pal. But, aside from all that, I think she rallied later in the show and managed, over all, not to be disastrous. Thus she won't be remembered as a failure, not like David Letterman, Chris Rock and, to some extent, Jon Stewart.

In fact, Ellen had a few shining moments in the show that redeemed her in the job. Best of all was when she knelt down next to Clint Eastwood and asked Steven Spielberg to take their photo for her My Space spot. It was all so schticky that it was silly, but it worked. It was even great because it captured what the Oscars are all about. This is Hollywood's annual family reunion and, let's be honest, if the famous Steven Spielberg was your uncle, you might see that same scene played out at your own family reunion, with pesky Cousin Edna complaining that, well, ya know, Steven, that first shot wasn't just right — try it again.

Ellen has such a naturally warm and personable nature that her interaction with the celeb-jammed audience at the Kodak seemed real. It didn't have that naughty-edge-with-a-sly-wink employed by Billy Crystal, Steve Martin or Whoopi Goldberg at their best (remember them teasing Julia Roberts about her high salary and Mickey Rooney about getting stuck with a lousy seat?), but her human interchange worked in a playful way (shopping her script to Marty Scorsese, etc.), thus infusing the occasion with heart. That personal connection is what was painfully missing when Letterman, Rock and Stewart held that stage.

(Photo: ABC)