Two years ago my first order of duty for Entertainmentopia was to review the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, better known as the VMAs, and while the awards in 2000 were the most horrible sight ever to be produced on TV I have found a new faith in MTV with this years show that featured more humor, some decent performances, and an all out ripping of every music celebrity on another.

Let me big with that last point, it seems that the water is boiling in Music City as just about everyone who had an opinion expressed it, whether it was justified, good, or bad, the outspoken crowd was on top of their game this year. From Triumph’s, the comic insult dog, discussion with Moby about Eminem’s lyrics, and Em’s refusal to even be near the puppet it was evident that there are some people who just don’t like each other. Em also was booed on stage when he referred to Moby as a “little girl” and protested “that he would hit a man with glasses."

The funniest of these moments was host Jimmy Fallon’s announcement that Fat Joe had eaten one of the Olsen twins, cut to a shot of Joe, in a very un-amused persona, and back to Fallon who had better not attend the after show parties. Neal and I joked about Fallon either being found dead this morning or “knee-capped” while walking home. It only spread from there as Fallon came back only twenty minutes later with an update that the crew didn’t know which twin Joe had eaten and that they were using the other one as bait, my living room was in uproar with hilarity. The name calling and cheap shots didn’t end with Fallon, Moby, and Eminem; Kirsten Dunst made comments on how MTV had, seemingly, run out of Wayans brothers to host the show, Fallon parodied the hosts of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, and the opening skit with Jimmy running between different videos was a welcome change from the awful skits of the past.

Performances where also much better than to be expected but some of them just weren't up to par. The overly hyped solo performance by Justin Timberlake of NSYNC was bland, tired, and sounded just like NSYNC, we jokingly were expecting the rest of NSYNC to come out as Justin’s back-up dancers considering that is pretty much what they were before, sans commercials. Pink’s topsy-turvy performance almost looked like she had a mixture of Mexican Tequila and heroin as she walked around stage looking for here crack-pipe, someone later in the show even referred to her as “drunk” while performing, it wouldn’t be very surprising. The Vines and The Hives performance was OK, but lacked the real punch as The Hives were sent to the side stage while The Vines took front and center, even though The Hives have a much better and prominent song. Eminem’s performance of “White America” and “Cleaning out my Closet” was a pleasure all around and while there were tons of songs he could have done from his latest, and best CD, these two seemed to fit the situation with his movie, 8 Mile, coming out in a few months. P Diddy’s performance of an old single was filled with some novel effects, but, like Timberlake’s, didn’t hold the punch the rest of the show did.

The show had it’s share of funny moments, and commercials, during it’s three hour running time, the most notable are described above, but when Eminem had to accept an award from Christina Aguilera you knew things could have gotten heated, and while we wish they did, it is probably better they didn’t. The cast of Jackass was there promoting their new movie, Jackass: The Movie, and stapled the winners name to Steve-O's chest. Michael Jackson also showed up to receive this birthday award, giving to him by the luscious Britney Spears, even though he mistook the gift for an Artist of the Millennium Award.

The most surprising, and utterly stupid, moment came at the very end of the show when a surprise performance by Guns n’ Roses was suppose to bring the house down, but when the curtain lifted most people were like “who the hell are these guys?” Indeed, who the hell were those guys because they looked nothing like GNR, and if it wasn’t for that horrible performance we may be singing a different tune this morning.

So in my honest opinion I thought the awards show was okay, it was even nice of MTV to allow Fallon to make fun of the network with the line, “...the only time you will actually see music on MTV,” which either means MTV acknowledges they have strayed too far off of the path, or they just like making fun of themselves, my vote is on both. The show stands as one of the better editions I have seen, but it still seems to pale in comparison to the MTV Movie Awards which gives you a better chance at seeing humor in the lime-light.

The Winners: (provided by Zap2It)

Best Video Of The Year
Eminem, "Without Me"

Best Male Video
Eminem, "Without Me"

Best Female Video
Pink, "Get the Party Started"

Best Group Video
No Doubt Featuring Bounty Killer, "Hey Baby"

Best Rap Video
Eminem, "Without Me"

Best R&B Video
Mary J. Blige, "No More Drama"

Best Hip-Hop Video
Jennifer Lopez Featuring Ja Rule, "I'm Real"

Best Dance Video
Pink, "Get the Party Started"

Best Rock Video
Linkin Park, "In the End"

Best Pop Video
No Doubt Featuring Bounty Killer, "Hey Baby"

Best New Artist In A Video
Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"

Best Video From A Film
Chad Kroeger Featuring Josey Scott, "Hero" ["Spiderman" ]

Viewer's Choice
Michelle Branch, "Everywhere"

Breakthrough Video
The White Stripes, "Fell In Love With A Girl"

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES
Best Direction In a Video
Eminem, "Without Me"

Best Choreography In a Video
Kylie Minogue, "Can't Get You Out of My Head"

Best Special Effects In A Video
The White Stripes, "Fell In Love With A Girl"

Best Art Direction In A Video
Coldplay, "Trouble"

Best Editing In A Video
The White Stripes, "Fell In Love With A Girl"

Best Cinematography In A Video
Moby, "We Are All Made of Stars"

MTV2 Award
Dashboard Confessional, "Screaming Infidelities"