Jack Mathews of the Detroit Free Press commented, "In any event, the 52nd Academy Awards presentation will stand as one of the smoothest, most predictable, most reasonable Oscar nights in history. Also, alas, one of the most boring." The Baltimore Sun television critic Bill Carter quipped, "We found out Monday night when this year's edition of the Oscarcast streamlined to the point of emaciation (and still more than three hours long), thudded along like some awards dinner of the meat-packing industry."
The remarks from Jack Mathews of the Detroit Free Press and Bill Carter of the Baltimore Sun express their differing views on the 52nd Academy Awards ceremony, with Mathews describing it as polished and anticipated but uninteresting, whereas Carter characterizes it as sluggish and excessively prolonged.