“It wouldn’t be an awards show at this point without NPH (he got rave reviews for his hosting gigs at both the Tonys and the Emmys). He got the Oscar crowd nice and warmed up for Martin and Baldwin, who descended in a contraption from the ceiling and ran hand-in-hand to the front of the stage to do their opening monologue.” ~ Zap2It

“Neil Patrick Harris Surprise Oscar Opener Brings Flair To The Stage. What a fitting beginning for the 82 annual, changing things up a bit to make this stale show, a little fresher.” ~ IndyPosted

“Neil Patrick Harris opened the ceremonies and introduced the Oscar hosts – Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin – and poked fun at films through song and dance. Harris recently hosted the Tonys and the Emmys (remember the sweet Dr. Horrible bit with Nathan Fillion?), and threatened to steal this show before it even started!” ~ BSCreview

“The 82nd Annual Academy Awards started off with How I Met Your Mother’s own NPH singing and dancing like only he can. The opening act was not announced and was a great start to the evening.” ~ Examiner

“As I watched the Oscars last night, two inescapable facts became increasingly clear as the night wore on. One: Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, for all their comedic talents, were less than ideal choices to co-host the show. Two: Neil Patrick Harris should have mastered the ceremonies in their stead. NPH opened the show with a rousing, Broadway-style musical number. He was on fire, a vibrant presence on that stage and — as we soon learned — an impossible act to follow for co-hosts Baldwin and Martin.” ~ MTV

“An outstanding song-and-dance number from Neil Patrick Harris trumped the ho-hum opening monologue of hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.” ~ LA Times

“The night kicked off in a great fashion with the always entertaining, Neil Patrick Harris singing the opening number.  Seriously, can he get a full time gig hosting all awards show?  NPH makes everything infinitely better.” ~ Flix66

“Now that the Oscars have wrapped, let’s go back to the beginning and one of the show’s best kept secrets: Neil Patrick Harris! The funnyman showed up for an elaborate, Busby Berkeley-style song and dance number to introduce hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Martin and Baldwin then descended the stage, making jokes about the nominees, as is custom. The George Clooney/Baldwin stare-down was pretty fantastic, but I’m not sure that their combined power topped that of their opening act, NPH.” ~ PopSugar

“The night’s biggest highlight, a brilliant song and dance number from Neil Patrick Harris that kick-started the whole shebang. Note to the Academy: Get more NPH next year and I’ll RSVP… ASAP!” ~ The Suffolk Voice

“Neil Patrick Harris’ opening song and dance number was flashy, fun — and kind of made me question why he wasn’t asked to host the show in the first place. Dressed in a snazzy, sparkly tuxedo jacket with feathered Vegas-style dancers, he gave Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin a nice lead-in, but he also seemed to steal the show right out from underneath them.” ~ BuzzSugar

“But Oscarcast giveth and Oscarcast taketh away. The introductory production number with Neil Patrick Harris was a surprise that came off well, but the same could not be said for the bizarre interpretive dance numbers that were used to introduce the nominees for best musical score.” ~ OregonLive

But you are doing another “Harold & Kumar” film entitled “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,” is that correct?
John Cho: That’s for the summer. We’re supposed to start shooting it this summer, that’s the plan and if I’m not mistaken I think they want to release it this Christmas. It’s for the families … for the kids, you know? By the way, did you hear the Neil Patrick Harris song at the Oscars?
Yes. Did you know that he was going to give you a shout-out like that in his song?
John Cho: I did not know that was happening. I was very thrilled. I was like, there’s my man. There he is. There goes my man! ~ Movieweb

And a few Tweets of encouragement from actors/celebs in response to Neil’s tweet:

@ActuallyNPH Dude!!! Don’t be reading that stuff!! You know better than that!! ~ Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73)
@ActuallyNPH i agree w/ @wcruz73. f-them hoes. don’t start listening 2 the haters now. ur too far ahead of the pack 2 fall for that shit. ~ Darryl Stephens (@darrylstephens)
@ActuallyNPH Phooey on everyone (including me). You just ENJOY!!!! We’re all jealous! oxxo ~ Elayne Boosler (@ElayneBoosler)
@ActuallyNPH well, we here at #glee all thought you were splendid. ~ Cory Monteith (@frankenteen)
@ActuallyNPH Stop reading reviews! You were fantastic. I did think the songwriting was weaker than last year’s, but that’s not your fault.
…it made me sad to think of the gifted @ActuallyNPH reading reviews & bumming. ~ both from Dana Stevens (@thehighsign) – slate.com critic.