Some very deserving nominees won -- Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse taking Best Animated Film was especially satisfying to me -- and there was Green Book, which will likely be the most polarizing Best Picture winner since Crash.
Now I haven't seen the film, but even the most charitable reviews I've seen from people say it's basically two fantastic performances in a subpar, problematic film. The fact that groundbreaking films like Roma, The Favourite and Black Panther won big awards, but still came up short does demonstrate just how fractured the Oscar voters are, it's almost like becoming increasingly like the U.S. electorate.
Anyway, here are my biggest takeaways that nobody needs and no one asked for:
The show was better off without a host - I will fully admit I thought this was going to be a awkward disaster, and now, like a lot of folks, I'm starting to see that the host was always not useful. They're usually uncomfortable and so is the audience, and they end up slowing everything down, when really all we want to see is the awards winners. Although, if Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were to split the duties next year, I wouldn't be even a little bit upset about it.
The Black Panther victories were the sweetest - There was a lot of talk heading into the ceremony that the Marvel blockbuster and cultural phenomenon might not win a single award, and instead it ended up getting three very well-deserved ones for its beautiful costumes, set design and score. Of course, I wish it had won Best Picture, but I am thrilled that it wasn't totally snubbed.
Spike Lee stole the show - Speaking of rectifying snubs, Spike Lee's genuine joy at finally getting recognized for his terrific work on BlacKkKlansman was very heartening. And despite the fact that president is trying to troll his acceptance speech with racist illusions to his intelligence or lack thereof, the actual content of Lee's halting acceptance speech was quite profound if only people paid more attention to it.
Olivia Coleman shocker was fantastic - It's so rare when someone genuinely pulls off a shocking upset in one of the acting categories, and this one was a doozy. Everyone, including Coleman I'm sure, went into the night expecting Glenn Close to finally win her long coveted Oscar, but the thing is Coleman's film (The Favourite) is considered vastly superior and her performance was arguably more deserving. Still, I can't help but feel a little bad for Close.
Missed opportunities - I like Rami Malek a lot, and although I've heard nothing but bad things about Bohemian Rhapsody but I have heard he's terrific in it. I only wish he had used some part of his Best Actor speech to acknowledge, even indirectly, the alleged victims of the film's director, Bryan Singer. Also, the Best Picture win for Green Book just seems like a cop-out. Roma was a Netflix movie. Black Panther was a superhero film. BlacKkKlansman was -- I dunno -- too black? Who knows why far better films were passed over, but I feel like the Best Picture winner should either be the best film (think Moonlight) or at the very least a film that has a reasonable claim to be (think Spotlight).
Are Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper actually in love? - Ok, I'm being a little facetious here, but I will say the staging and execution of their duet from A Star Is Born was really something to behold, and may go down as the most memorable moment of the night. It served to both highlight how much genuine chemistry these two superstars have and also how unfairly maligned their movie was despite being a massive critical and commercial success. They're going to be just fine, but honestly that movie was not by any means bad.
What are we to do with the Oscars? Ratings went slightly up reportedly, but of course all network television viewership is down. It is by its very nature an old, stodgy affair. Sure the academy is more diverse but is still an insanely skewed 69% male, which probably explains the fact that only one woman has won Best Director ever, and few have ever even been nominated. Like the film industry itself, the awards show has a lot of work and growing to do if it wants to stay relevant. Last night was neither a total victory or a total loss, but maybe just a snapshot of an American stable in transition.
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