Tipper, Al & Oscar: Extreme Makeover!
Despite the hundreds of mics on the red carpet at this year's Oscars, none of the journos holding them thought to ask Al or Tipper Gore who created their "new look."
We're not talking about who designed Al's tux, or Tipper's gown; we're referring to the total 180 degree turn their image has taken in Hollywood over the past two decades: Back in 1987, Tipper's role in creating the much-derided Parents Music Resource Center would have made her a red carpet pariah. At the '87 Oscars, Tipper would have been dodging tomatoes, not walking on rose petals.
And even in 1997, a favorite Al Gore joke went, "How do you pick Al Gore out of a roomful of secret service agents?"
Punchline: "He's the stiff, unnatural one."
A few years and an Oscar-nominated documentary later, Gore's electrified the often-neglected documentary category. It's gratifying to see a smooth, relaxed and dare we say it, downright presidential Al Gore on the red carpet.
How come? Well, as Al put it, "I'm old enough to know that a red carpet is just a rug."
And speaking of 180s, here's hoping it's not 180 degrees on the red hot carpet before we take Big Al's message seriously.