I know we’re already four days out from Hollywood’s biggest night, but I was out of the country when the Oscars aired originally! I know! I’m as sad and surprised as you are!
But in any case, I did watch them the very next day, though that did not stop me from looking up the winners the night of. If i’ve never said it before, spoilers do not bother me in the slightest, and I knew it wouldn’t take away from the experience of watching everything play out. As awards shows go sometimes, they can be awkward in places, and despite Conan O’Brien’s storied career in live television, he was not saved from a stagnant moment here and there. But all things considered, he did well with his opening monologue which happened to follow a bit where he was dressed up as Gladys running through scenes from all of the movies nominated that night.
Almost as a bit of foreshadowing, Amy Madigan did take home the win for her unsettling supporting turn in Weapons. It was absolutely wild seeing Zach Creggar in the audience cheering her on. Aside from her win though, there wasn’t much love to go around for the evening. If you were a part of Sinners or One Battle After Another, then you just might have taken home an award for the night. Seriously, those two took home every other major award for the evening aside from Best Actress which went to a well deserved Jessie Buckley. Having just seen Hamnet over the weekend, I was fine with either her or Rose Byrne taking home the award, so at least the Academy voters got it right. And her reaction was so cute, along with her co-stars!
I might have said this when reviewing the Golden Globes, but the amount of wins Sinners received kind of baffled me. Yes, I liked the movie and acknowledge that it was really good. But did I see it winnig Original Screenplay, Cinematography, and Lead Actor for Michael B Jordan, among many others? Heck no! Maybe it’s because movies like that don’t usually win. It dips its toes into horror which almost never has a place at the Oscars. So you know what, good for Ryan Coogler and team! Paul Thomas Anderson remains a powerhouse, so it’s no surprise to me how many awards that film took home. And having also just recently watched it, I think they were also all well deserved! Sean Penn was actually awesome in the film, and it was completely crazy that he wasn’t there to accept his award. I did find it hard to believe that PTA had never won the award for directing before, given how many times he’s been nominated. Better late than never!
Frankenstein took home many of the more techincal awards for the night, like costume design and make-up and hairstyling, though I was rooting for Kokuho to take the award home. My friend told me she was shocked that K-Pop Demon Hunters won for Best Original Song, but why should she be? It was inescapable this past year, and an earworm to boot. That is really all it takes to come out on top. And it was a good song! It should also come as no surprise that the film won for animation – well deserved! As a massive K-Pop fan I suppose I could be a little biased about the win, but still. Perhaps the only really crazy things that happened were the win for Cinematography going to a woman for the first time, and the tie for winners for Best Short Film – Kumail Nanjiani handled it well! The cut off ques were really crap this year, so room for improvement next year. But overall, a heartwarming evening!
Check out the complete list of winners here.