Okay, let’s try to find something positive to say about this disastrous Oscar Night, shall we? Ashton and Mila still get along! Awesome, right? Drive My CarRyusuke Hamaguchi was the winner. Troy Cotsur CODASigned a memorable acceptance with Youn Yuh–jung. Ariana deBose was a historical winner West Side StoryRita Moreno is Rita Moreno’s inspiration and mentor. She was also an Oscar winner for the exact role she played six decades ago. Jane Campion was third female filmmaker who won Best Director. Questlove has been nominated for an Oscar! And remember how six or seven years ago Beyoncé kicked off the show with a song? In a saner world, that’s what we’d all be talking about right now.
Will Smith, in one of the strangest moments in Oscar history, snapped and attacked Chris Rock onstage. And then — the Really weird part — he just went back to his seat to watch the show like nothing happened. At first glance, it seemed like Smith and Rock were laughing a lot. Smith’s tantrum, however, was for real.
It was the most bizarre fisticuffs at an award show live on TV since Tommy Lee and Kid Rock had a tango with Pam Anderson at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Sean was a teenager back then. “Puffy”Combs instantly reacted to the air, laughing. “We gotta stop the violence in rock & roll!” History repeated itself, since Diddy had to go on right after Smith’s outburst and make awkward quips. Perhaps, just maybe Diddy remembered the jokes Rock made. “Mo Money Mo Problems”1997 “‘I’m comin’ out”? What does Puff stand for? ‘Suge’Are you in prison?’”
Historical context: There’s some bad blood in the combination of Rock, Smith, and the Oscars. In 2016, he stated that the Oscars were his last appearance as a comedian. “Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties — I wasn’t invited!”
Chris enjoyed the night with these two celebrities, just as he does with celebrities at award shows. (Can you see TobeyMaguire, Jude Law, or Tim Robbins attacking him during the ceremony?) They were a lot more mean to him. In 2016, he quipped, “Jada’s mad her man Will was not nominated for Concussion…She said, ‘It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated!’ You’re right! It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West, okay?”
Smith was awarded Best Actor King Richard, as was expected, he made a speech about how he was just doing God’s work, along with a few of the usual clichés that men say after violent tantrums. It was a far cry from his famous 1999 VMAs speech where he boasted about he didn’t use profanity or rap about killing people on his records — a moment so iconic at the time, Eminem made fun of it in “The Real Slim Shady.”
The whole night was filled with Hollywood madness. This Oscars set an all-time record in mind-blowingly tasteless choices, until they added a cheerleading team to the mix. “Spirit in the Sky”For the In Memoriam Montage. Right, what better way to honor Lina Wertmüller or Stephen Sondheim or Jean-Paul Belmondo than jazz dancers chirping about Jesus? Poor Jamie Lee Curtis should be able to recite lines such as “Betty White was more than a Golden Girl — she was a legend!”
Timothée Chalamet showed up in a sparkly ensemble with no shirt, and admirably kept his smile going all through the soul-numbing depths of the show. He managed to give sincere-looking enthusiasm — maybe the first person ever to earn a Best Actor award during the actual ceremony.
Megan Thee Stallion was a stunning presence during the all-stars “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” performance. Billie Eilish sang Bond theme “No Time To Die,”That in no way explains the 60 Years of Bond montage from earlier in evening. Amy Schumer made a clever joke about this fact. Don’t Look UpNominated for: “I guess Academy members Don’t Look Up reviews!”A beautiful moment occurred on the red carpet when Halle was holding Chloe as she asked the interviewer what celebrity they were most excited for to see. Chloe replied, “Halle!”
The night’s most touching moment came at the end: Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli, a shocking reminder that celebrities can also be kind, empathetic, generous human beings. Gaga said simply when Liza struggled with the envelope. “I got you” — what a real and powerful moment. On an Oscar night like this one, it couldn’t have felt more out of place.