James Franco and Anne Hathaway As Oscar Hosts: Success or Failure?

Oscar nominee James Franco and Anne Hathaway were the youngest stars to host the Academy Awards and it was the goal to bring a younger demographic to the awards.

The stars joked, "Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip,” Franco said, to which Hathaway replied, “Oh, thank you, James. You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well.”

Many critics believe however, the stars as hosts, were a huge let down.

Hathaway, 28, was described as “charming and charismatic” by the New York Times while Franco was called distracted.

A reporter for the newspaper said, “Mr. Franco and Ms. Hathaway are charming and charismatic, but together they had an odd absence of chemistry. Mr. Franco looked a little distracted and even blasé. … Ms. Hathaway was better alone than at Mr. Franco’s side.”

Similar comments came from the Washington Post, who credited Hathaway for hosting the show and Franco for simply just being by her side.

“Hathaway worked her derriere off and Franco came off like that lacrosse boy you wish your daughter didn't hang out with,” wrote Hank Stuever. He added, they were like “first-graders at a Thanksgiving pageant.”

MTV reports that Franco appeared to be "preparing for a remake of 'Dazed and Confused' ", as USA Today pointed out.

The Hollywood Reporter deemed it “the night James Franco couldn't act like a host.” Adding, “[Franco] often looked bored or like he was back in Pineapple Express. [He] looked like he was too cool to be there half of the time and like the lights were too bright for him the other half, forcing a squint that made his tight-lipped smile look more like disdain.”

Taylor White, a writer from AllYourTV had a neutral review of Hathaway and Franco, but was still unimpressed.

"There wasn't anything wrong with their hosting work tonight," White wrote. "They walked their way through the expected 'insert yourself into the movies' opening segment, and their banter seemed more appropriate for a Match.com commercial than a major awards program. They were personable and had some chemistry between them. But they were also instantly forgettable.”

"I'm not sure what happened," one insider told Pop Eater. "At rehearsals James and Anne were on fire. It seemed 20 minutes into the show as if James lost interest and just gave up while nerves might have gotten the better of Anne."

Entertainment Weekly, however had kind words for the first-time hosts.

"Funny, poised, relaxed, and smart, Anne Hathaway and James Franco made for marvelous Oscar hosts, their combination of respect and informality struck the right tone for the night, a happily surprising production that had its share of fine moments both planned and ad-libbed."

Franco, who reportedly skipped his own after-party, would only write via Twitter “it was fun, time to get back to class.”