On Sunday, Hollywood’s (supposed) best were honored in Los Angeles at the 96th Academy Awards. The ceremony itself was relatively uneventful and smooth, but in a way that felt a little unsatisfying.
Like the Grammy Awards and Golden Globes earlier this year, there were virtually no “extracurricular activities.” No instances of not keeping wives names’ in mouths or misawarding golden statues for Best Picture, the very moments that I think make the Oscars especially entertaining.
There were flubs here and there, but nothing that will live in infamy or stick with people for longer than a week.
The red carpet looks were very solid this year. Carey Mulligan of “Maestro” stunned in a classy black mermaid gown that won the hearts of red carpet hosts Vanessa Hudgens and Julianne Hough, and, most importantly, Twitter. Among my other favorite looks were “Past Lives” star Greta Lee flaunting a black and white Loewe gown and Cillian Murphy’s custom black Versace suit.
Jimmy Kimmel, following the patterns of other hosts this awards show season, didn’t so much make himself look great, but continued to make Jo Koy’s hosting of the Golden Globes in January look worse.
Kimmel’s monologue was relatively safe and boring in my opinion, which was surely an intentional choice on the writers to cautiously avoid the disaster fire that was Koy’s outing at the Globes.
Considering the projected winners of the awards before the ceremony, the previous award shows set a precedent for pretty much all categories that the Oscars generally followed. Because of the Golden Globes’ structure of dividing acting categories in Musical/Comedy and Drama, there wasn’t a crystal clear favorite for either the Best Actor or Best Actress categories, but with the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards also in the rear view as of this past Sunday, the favorites were solidified.
Robert Downey Jr. of “Oppenheimer” swept the major four ceremonies to take home his first Oscar. Da’Vine Joy Randolph swept as well for her role in “The Holdovers.” Both of these were absolutely deserving.
Murphy was the frontrunner in the acting category all winter, and finished the race as an Oscar winner. In his sixth film with Christopher Nolan over a collaboration of almost two decades, Murphy emerged as the first Irish-born actor to lift a golden statue.
Murphy was the favorite for both my head and my heart this awards season, but I left some room in there for Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” who I thought was marvelous, if not nearly intense. While the sweep certainly makes sense, I wished Cooper got at least a rose petal in the form of a SAG or BAFTA this season, if he couldn’t truly get his flowers.
The Best Actress Category was the biggest “surprise” of the night. And that’s only in quotes because the two favorites Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone each took home a respective SAG and BAFTA prior to Sunday, and were nominated for two different categories at the Globes.
Stone won for her role as Bella Baxter in “Poor Things” on Sunday. Visibly shocked and delivering a classy, but obviously thrown together speech, it seemed as if Stone wanted Gladstone to win what would have been her first Oscar, emerging from being virtually unknown before starring in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
My personal favorite in this category was Mulligan, who I’ve been a fan of for years. And while Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro” was brilliant, Mulligan as his wife Felicia Montealegre was simply outstanding.
While what was surely the strongest part of an otherwise solid “Maestro” did not earn a major trophy, Stone was a fine choice, but a one-man Academy of yours truly would have given Mulligan her first Oscar on Sunday.
Outside of the winners and nominees, the highlights and heartwarmers of Oscar Sunday were present as well.
Ryan Gosling performed “I’m Just Ken,” donning a bright-pink sparkly suit and shades in what was certainly a stand out from the show. As a “La La Land” enthusiast, when Gosling pointed the microphone at Stone to sing a line from the song, I got a little nostalgic. It was always Mia and Sebastian.
Gosling and Emily Blunt playfully bantering back and forth about the rivalry between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” over the summer was electric. Blunt hitting Gosling with the “and the way this awards season’s turned out, wasn’t that much of a rivalry so just let it go,” would later prove to be prophetic, as “Oppenheimer” racked up award after award.
Winning seven Oscars over “Barbie’s” one, Nolan’s blockbuster gave the veteran Brit his first two career Oscars, as “Oppenheimer” won Best Picture and Nolan won Best Director.
Winning for score and cinematography as well, Oppenheimer became the highest grossing best picture winner since “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004.
As a well-produced show, the 96th Academy Awards could have used some flair, some fire and maybe even a sprinkle more of controversy. However, at the same time, the relative smoothness of it proved to be refreshing and light hearted. The films and nominees were some of the strongest in recent memory, and I wouldn’t hate if Sunday’s ceremony put the Oscars on a track of tasteful, yet not-all-that-exciting fun.
