This past weekend marked the end of the 2024-2025 awards season and it always feels bittersweet to me. I don’t know that I can definitively say that this year’s Oscars were my favorite, but it was certainly an enjoyable evening!
Firstly, Conan O’Brien has been all over everything that I found it kind of surprising that this was his first time hosting. He did a fine job. Nothing overly memorable, but he didn’t embarrass or get himself cancelled, so that’s a win. The opening of the ceremony paid homage to LA and the natural disasters it’s endured so far this year, and then kind of awkwardly switched to him breaking out of Demi Moore’s back a la The Substance. It was funny, just a weird transition. Actually, come to think of it, the whole rest of the opening was weird. It went from that to a song from nominee Wicked, to then O’Brien’s roasting monologue. Best roast for sure went to nominee Karla Sofia Gascon and her history of bad, bad Tweets. Nick Offerman being the voice over guy was also not something I was expecting this year, but it was a fun surprise!
There is always so much filler during the Oscars, or any awards show for that matter, and this year was no different. Sure, they kept it at just about three hours, but did we need the long, involved, weird, and honestly mediocre Bond tribute? I know it was meant to honor the team that’s been responsible for producing many of those films, but it just felt so random. With that being said, I think Margaret Qualley would absolutely kill it as a future Bond girl. I hope future casting directors were paying attention! My other favorite pre-recorded bit was Conan trying to sell the theater as a new way to stream movies. Genius! And sadly, I think that advertisement could actually fool too many people.
The most important part of the evening is of course the winners, but I’d be remiss to not acknowledge some of the more fun presenters. Maybe not fun, but Andrew Garfield telling Goldie Hawn how much his later mother enjoyed her movies made my eyes well up. Not cool, Andrew! I love that they invited June Squibb to be a presenter. Thelma was so good and got totally shafted this awards season in my opinion. The lady is a hoot! I cackled when she said that she’s being played by Bill Skarsgaard while she’s at home reading a book. And though John Lithgow was an actual presenter for the evening, he was so much more. The amount of times he got referenced and flashed to during the evening was hilarious and he was totally game for all of it. Finally, the choir during the In Memorium section was both beautiful and a little chilling at times. I loved it.
Finally, the winners. When the nominees were announced for the final time, I found that the winners were going to be more obvious now that I’ve seen how everything shook out for the rest of the season. Kieran Culkin was a shoe-in, and I love that he keeps bargaining for more children if he wins. I also loved his enthusiastic claps sent Mikey Madison’s way when she took home the trophy for Best Actress. I was thrilled that she won and would have been too if it was Demi taking it home instead. I think they had a nice split this season, something they should both be proud of. Though I wasn’t too excited for Zoe Saldana’s win, I like how happy all of the other nominees looked for her. That’s solidarity! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Best Adapted Screenplay winner for Conclave was also responsible for adapting Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – how neat!
Flow for Animated Feature was also a sweetly inspired win. Sure, it’s been picking up stuff left and right this season, but it always seems like they go for the major studio stuff at the Oscars. It was the first win for Latvia, only the third international film to win in this category, and also the second film to ever be nominated in both animated and international picture. That’s quite an achievement! Finally, ruling the evening was Sean Baker and his film, Anora. Yes, Mikey took home the acting trophy, but because Baker is such an indie filmmaker, he took home not only Best Picture and Director, but also editing! He’s apparently won the most trophies at the Oscars and I’m here for it! I also love that he dedicated one of his speeches to the theater going experience – he’s the sweetest. Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing Da’Vine Joy Randolph in a future Baker flick…just saying.
Overall, it was a magical night full of special moments. It’s hard to believe it starts all over again, but I can’t wait!