The visually captivating and decidedly over-the-top opening ceremonies of the twentieth Winter Olympiad proved once and for all that “other nations can be as cheesy as the United States. That people the world over seem to share a common urge to stage bizarre interpretive dance… The Olympics are ordained to be completely self-important — no smirking allowed! — which perhaps is why the opening festivities always seem so campy. Still, as a general spectacle, last night’s show wasn’t bad.”