For anyone who has attended the Directors Guild of America Awards in recent years, it is a marvel to watch Carl Reiner, coming up on his 85th birthday, host the evening with such quick wit and charm. He is spontanious, fearless and very, very funny. He is a marvel.
He walked out the host the show for the 19th consecutive year and said: "I don't need this. I'm 84 years old, gonna be 85...the pressure is too much at this age!"
He was funny all night long, no fade toward the end, and had the audience, which included his director son Rob Reiner, in stiches. And it was so nice that right before Martin Scorsese was given the top prize of the night, Steve Martin, who Reiner directed in 1984's "All of Me," took the stage to present Reiner with the DGA's Lifetime Membership Award.
Reiner accepted it with mock attitude: I'm 85 years old...if I live to 100, it;s not much. If they had given this to me when I was 42 or 43, it might have meant something! I might not accept this!"
But in the end, he did accept it and it was well deserved. The DGA Awards are as fun as they are, year after year, because Carl Reiner is the host.
They don't come any funnier.