3 Thoughts on The Oscars

1. The Show - HOLY FUCKING SHIT JIMMY KIMMEL JUST HOSTED ONE OF THE BEST OSCARS IN YEARS!!! I'm stunned into disbelief. I've never been a fan of Jimmy, and I've hated every one of his hosting gigs. But I actually laughed a few times at his opening monologue, and even throughout the rest of the show. There were SEVERAL highlights that I thought couldn't be topped but then Ryan Gosling brought the fucking house down with his performance of "I'm Just Ken". I knew Gosling was going to have a blast performing this. Someone commented on Twitter that the thing that makes him great is that he takes the work seriously, but not himself - and that is exactly it! He is definitely in on the joke and he realizes how fucking ridiculous this song is and that he's performing it on the Oscar stage, but he went for it anyway - and gave one of the best Oscar performances in history. From the head to toe pink sparkly suit, to the "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" reference, to fucking SLASH coming on stage, to handing the mic to his co-workers for a quick sing-a-long, it was all just perfect. Other highlights of the show were Messi the dog not only sitting in the audience like a good boy, but giving a better reaction shot than most actors, and then CLAPPING for Best Supporting Actor (I DIED). John Cena doing a bit about being a streaker - walking out on the stage with nothing but the envelope covering him and then his voice shakily says "costumes...". I clapped for the Twins reunion, but laughed hard that instead of making it about Twins, they talk about how they both "tried to kill Batman" - leading to a funny moment with Michael Keaton in the audience. Also, Gosling gave another highlight as presenter, along with Emily Blunt, in which they discuss their Barbenheimer feud, and now I can't wait for The Fall Guy, because they have CHEMISTRY. There are a few things that didn't work for me, like the past winners presenting the acting awards - in theory, it's a good idea, but the show is already too long and having each one of them speak just takes forever. And it just feels a little self-congratulatory. Also, the rest of the live performances were pretty terrible (what even was that with the flames and the kids dressed in white & red? Just awful). 

2. The Winners - There were no surprises. I repeat - no surprises. So many film enthusiasts, awards pundits, whatever you want to call yourselves, seemed shocked by Emma Stone's win, and I don't understand why. It was between Stone and Lily the whole season - either one of them had a good chance of winning (the "shock" would have been Sandra Huller - who had my vote, if I were allowed to vote). I think Lily's mistake was campaigning for Lead Actress, to be honest. She's definitely in a Supporting role (some argue she's the "lead female", but that would make Carey Mulligan the "lead female" in Maestro and yet she went for Supporting (**** correction, I posted this and then realized today that Mulligan did in fact go for Lead, and she definitely shouldn't have either!). I think it comes down to screen time. I would argue that some films don't even have a lead performance, but that's a whole other topic at hand). The other thing is, even if you're upset about Lily losing, and you didn't like Poor Things (I liked it, I'll post my thoughts on it soon), you can't possibly argue that Stone doesn't deserve this win??? She's incredible in it. She's been nominated for an Oscar FIVE times at the young age of 35 - and I would argue the best actress of her generation. As for the other wins - all expected, but shockingly, all deserving (as someone stated "we broke the Best Actor curse" because the actual best actor won, as opposed to, you know, Rami Malek and company). I've said my thoughts on Da'Vine's performance (I can't get past the accent, sorry), but she still gave a lovely performance (I think Brooks should have had the bigger buzz and if The Color Purple performed better in the theater, I think she would have had it). I guess there was some sort of surprise wins - like American Fiction beating out Barbie and Oppenheimer in Adapted Screenplay. And Poor Things getting Production Design AND Costume Design over Barbie?! But I got the sense that Barbie was not going to perform well once the nominations were announced. What I do like most about this Oscar season is that several films were recognized instead of one big film sweeping (that's always boring) - so Anatomy of a Fall, American Fiction, Poor Things, Oppenheimer, etc. all shared the love (and Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon were shut-out, but I'm not mad about it...). 

3. The Fashion - The only real disappointment is the fashion. Not one shocking dress. And why did so many wear black??? I'll take black dresses over the big white gowns that so many wear to these events, but it just made for a really dull red carpet. The only one wearing a black dress that stood out was Issa Rae because she looked GORGEOUS. But I can't even really pick out a Best Dress - maybe Zendaya? At least the dress was interesting. I think America Ferrera looked very beautiful (not my style of dress, but she wore it well). Same for Greta Gerwig (she usually misses in her fit, but this dress fit her perfectly). Da'Vine brought some much needed glamour, but overall, what a boring day for designer fashion. There isn't really any "Worst Dress" contenders - just all boring. I don't like the structural shoulder strap dresses making the rounds (both Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh wore the trend....booooo). I also hate that peplum dresses are making a comeback (Emma Stone, whyyyyyyy???). Even Colman Domingo disappointed in black!