“America: A Tribute to Heroes,” the commercial-free telethon that took over TV for two hours Friday night, was unlike any celebrity spectacle we’ve seen in recent memory. With its rich color palette and a stage dripping with candles, it felt more like a VH1 special than a significant moment of American cultural history. Call it cheesy-many people did-but getting the tone right had to be tough.
Both the musicians and the actors were at their most earnest. The dozen or so performances ran smoothly-it’s hard to believe this show came together in less than a week-and the song choices were generally moving. Bruce Springsteen opened the show with “My City of Ruins,” a ballad he wrote for Asbury Park, N.J. An energized Wyclef Jean performed Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” Billy Joel did his “New York State of Mind” and U2, beamed in from London, put together a medley that included “Peace on Earth” and “Walk On.” Mariah Carey emerged after her breakdown to deliver her signature “Hero” and Celine Dion came out from self-imposed seclusion with a quiet, destined-to-be-classic rendition of “God Bless America.” Most notable was Neil Young’s cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Like the musicians, none of the actors received introductions. Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and the rest of the A-listers simply emerged from the darkness to recite (off of TelePrompters) short tales of heroism from in and around the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on the morning of the attacks. Each ended his or her moment with a plea to donate money. The toll-free number (1-866-TO-UNITE) and Web-site address (www.tributetoheroes.org) remained at the bottom of the screen during the entire show. Thankfully, there was no running tab of how much had been raised thus far.
The show’s stand-out moment was the pairing of Muhammad Ali and Will Smith, who plays the fighter in the upcoming movie “Ali.” The ex-heavyweight champion, shaking from Parkinson’s, spoke as a Muslim. “I’m against killing and violence, and all Muslims are against it,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here to represent Islam if it were really like the way the terrorists made it look.”
Aside from Ali’s important remarks, the show’s sincerity was a touch tough to swallow. After all, we’re not used to taking celebrities seriously. We like to sit back and make fun of these people, with their $20 million salaries and their pet causes, and any self-righteousness on their part on awards shows usually elicits guffaws. But no one’s laughing that much right now.
At least the “celebrity phone bank” provided a modicum of comic relief. Several times during the program, cameras cut to another location, where some of Hollywood’s biggest stars sat in rows at cafeteria tables taking phone calls from Americans pledging money. There was Goldie Hawn, chatting giddily on the horn, as if to a close girlfriend. Also Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg and others-all of them positioned like AT&T operators, standing by to take your call.
You couldn’t help but giggle. And it’s really not such a bad thing. Because if we can’t laugh at Hollywood, we may never laugh again.
