It didn’t start off that bad for Harris, as Twitter users seemed to warm up to the opening monologue:
I'm going to say it. Best #Oscars opening EVER. #WFAA
— Ryan Wood (@RyanWoodDFW) February 23, 2015
NPH is killing it already!! Best opening in a very long time!! #Oscars
— Lauren Speed (@LaurenSpeed) February 23, 2015
But less than an hour into the show and people were already suggesting that they wanted last year's host, Ellen DeGeneres, back.
At what point does the "Bring Back Ellen" campaign kick in? #Oscars2015 — Aniruddha Guha (@AniGuha) February 23, 2015
I hate to say it, but NPH is terrible. Can we call Ellen to pinch hit and bring pizza and selfies or whatever. — ThePlaylist (@ThePlaylist) February 23, 2015
And they weren't subtle about it:
Someone please get Neil Patrick Harris drunk back stage. — Rani of Random (@suku06) February 23, 2015
Four hours is a long time to sustain interest, but the show had got the thumbs-down pretty early on:
NPH stands for Not Particularly Hilarious #Oscars — oculus (@daddy_san) February 23, 2015
He did make some jokes about the audience, but the joke was on him:
She’s a seat-filler, and NPH is a show-filler. #Oscars2015 — Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina) February 23, 2015
So much so that even Seth McFarlane got invoked:
Umm...okay. Bring back Seth McFarlane. Might as well. #Oscars2015 — Raheel Khursheed (@Raheelk) February 23, 2015
But McFarlane, on his part, was graciousness personified:
My pal @ActuallyNPH is fantastic as usual. There's nothing this man can't do brilliantly. — Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 23, 2015
There were desperate measures:
At least SOMEBODY got naked. #Oscars2015 — Emily Buder (@elbuder) February 23, 2015
Yes, the best part of the ceremony was then Harris, imitating Michael Keaton in Birdman, stripped down to his underwear.
When none of your jokes are funny so you gotta take off your clothes to entertain us. I see you, Neil Patrick Harris. — The Gay Burn Book (@SouthernHomo) February 23, 2015
But there were some redeeming moments too, at least for some:
That Birdman + Whiplash gag is probably going to be the best part of the NPH act tonight! — Sudhish Kamath (@SudhishKamath) February 23, 2015
It takes a lot of balls to be Neil Patrick Harris. http://t.co/BP4ZJVTkUx #Oscars pic.twitter.com/UAETpfuGW3 — Mashable (@mashable) February 23, 2015
But, clearly, not for everyone, or not for too long:
"After my last entrance I'm now a changed man." Is NPH writing his own material? If he is, he needs to stop. #Oscars2015 — Mick LaSalle (@MickLaSalle) February 23, 2015
And to be fair, those wanting to be charitable remembered to give the writers some flak too:
Who wrote these jokes? I love NPH so much but he's just drowning in unfunny. #Oscars2015 — { jade } (@TwentyFourGirl) February 23, 2015
And some tried to be polite:
Without ever being anything other than likeable, Neil Patrick Harris isn't quite cutting it #Oscars2015 — Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) February 23, 2015
But not everyone:
Jon Stewart please RT @b50: Ok it’s official. NPH isn’t working. Bring back James Franco. No wait. #Oscar2015 — Aparna Jain (@aparna_jain) February 23, 2015
Everyone could relate:
neil patrick harris keeps laughing at his own jokes i relate so hard — daddy savagina (@pizzapopniall) February 23, 2015
And the jokes continued. On him, that is:
Neil Patrick Harris is such an entertaining host in theory — Brian Gaar (@briangaar) February 23, 2015
From proposed TV shows:
Neil Patrick Harris's next TV show: 'How I Met Internet's Disapproval'. — Varun (@varungrover) February 23, 2015
To those who could have replaced him:
Neil Nitin Mukesh would have done a better job. #Oscar2015 — Ajay Gahlaut (@meajay) February 23, 2015
And some...
I nominate Key and Peele to host the Oscars next year. — Liz Dwyer (@losangelista) February 23, 2015
Neil Patrick Harris finally opened the sealed box that everyone was waiting for and read out his predictions. As was the case with the whole show, this gag too fell flat.
Oh my god, make this end. — ThePlaylist (@ThePlaylist) February 23, 2015
Oh NPH I love you but please release us.
— Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen) February 23, 2015