As a huge fan of the Academy Awards, I felt a little empty about this year’s telecast. That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of great moments about the evening. I love the movies nominated and for the most part I loved all the winners. Anyway, I have thoughts, criticism, compliments, and advice about the big award ceremony. Much like the Oscars, I’m gonna spew them out in no orderly fashion.
Spreading the Love – The Academy managed to distribute the awards quite nicely. Besides THE IRISHMAN. Much like 2002’s GANGS OF NEW YORK, Scorsese’s film got shut out.
PARASITE – 4
1917 – 3
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD – 2
JOKER – 2
FORD V FERRARI – 2
JOJO RABBIT – 1
LITTLE WOMEN – 1
MARRIAGE STORY – 1
TOY STORY 4 – 1
BOMBSHELL – 1
JUDY – 1
The snub and lack of diversity talk is getting boring! – I’m not saying these comments aren’t validated, but you know whose fault it is? You, the actor complaining. Yes, the winners are voted by the entire body, but the nominees are composed by the peers in that field. All the other categories (in my opinion, the more exciting ones) seem to be making great strides in inclusion. So all the actors complaining that there isn’t enough diversity among their twenty acting nominees is because of themselves. Those nominees are chosen by the very actors who are complaining. I think actors feel like they always need to be fighting a cause or that they are more important than they actually are. It might be our fault because we love this gaudy award show so much. And no one was snubbed. Besides Lupita Nyong’o and maybe Greta Gerwig.
Please Stop Talking! – Why do the actors clearly get far more time than everyone else to speak? This year specifically, the four who won had won every award ceremony leading up to this, and their speeches got a little stale by comparison. Sort of like a copy of copy. Credit to Brad Pitt who was still funny and charming. Also to Laura Dern and her lovely praise to her famous parents. Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger on the other hand rambled on far too long. Phoenix’s quote from his brother River was sweet and I do like Zellweger’s southern accent (I don’t remember noticing that before), but no one cares about their opinions in which they did not win an award for.
Speech Advice: Be Thankful, Be Self-Deprecating, and if possible, Be Preachy Be Funny – I appreciate the desire to make your speech have a greater purpose and change lives, but it’s not. No one finished listening to those speeches believing they were a better person for hearing it.
Comedians – The Oscars need to only invite comedians to present. Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell all proved that if we don’t have a comedian hosting, we better have lots of comedians presenting. Non-comedic actors seem to fail at being themselves and come off awkward when trying to be funny (Brie Larson, Sigourney Weaver, Gal Gadot) Unless you’re…
Keanu! – Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves in their odd SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE reunion made no sense as presenters, but it was still great. Keaton seemed… a little off. But she still worked for some charming laughs. While Keanu was the perfect counterpart to lead her through it.
Peanut Butter Falcon – Everyone should see this movie. While the title wasn’t specifically said, the film’s stars, Shia LaBeouf and Zach Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, did get to present an award.
Lose Yourself – The song montage was nice. But Eminem singing his Oscar winning song from 2002 was a weird and awesome surprise for everyone. Fun Fact: He did not appear at that ceremony to accept his award, thinking he was never going to win. Watching all those super stars scrunch their face, furrow their brow, bob their head, and start attempting to sing along in their seats was far more connecting to everyone at home doing the exact same thing than any acceptance speech. They’re just like us!
I am Spartacus! – Tom Hanks’ quick ode to the late Kirk Douglas was a nice touch. Hanks wrote that same line into his 1996 film “That Thing You Do.”
Foreign Language a) – South Korean film PARASITE made history by being the first foreign language film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was also the first recipient of the new International Film Award after the name change from Foreign Language film. It also won Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
Foreign Language b) – “Idina Menzel pronounced exactly how it’s spelled,” Josh Gad nailed this introduction before “Into The Unknown” from FROZEN 2 incorporated several different languages from all the women who play Elsa in other countries. It was a great moment reminding everyone of the profitable forward thinking reach of Disney always expanding their product.
“I am ready to drink tonight!” – Bong Joon Ho was the perfect winner of the night. He was just as surprised as the rest of us, laughed with giddiness from his wins, and grateful and complimentary to the other directors. He even led a standing ovation for Martin Scorsese and credited Quentin Tarantino for supporting his films before anyone else did. Quite simply, he was delightful and it was a joy watching him win.
