Mark Eydelshteyn, left, and Mikey Madison in “Anora.” (Neon/TNS)
On March 2, the 97th Annual Oscars took place at Dolby Theater, where the night was filled with well-deserved wins, funny gags, beautiful tributes, and a whole host of technical difficulties.
Rather than have Jimmy Kimmel reprise his role as a subpar host, The Academy opted for the more beloved and endlessly funnier Conan O’Brien. Truly, no one mourns the wicked.
O’Brien proved to be a creative, earnest, and all-around entertaining emcee. While the show did run long, between the honors given to LA Firefighters and the sandworm from Dune playing chopsticks, not a second felt wasted. His mix of ridiculous gags and risky jokes kept life in a ceremony that’s known to dazzle in its first hour, and drag in its last.
Hulu was a dumpster fire when it came to streaming The Oscars this year. While Paramount+ wasn’t perfect for the 96th Annual Oscars, this year it felt like there was a monkey in the control room orchestrating the mess.
Multiple friends told me that they couldn’t watch the ceremony despite Hulu promising access to all subscribers, and several news outlets reported issues with the broadcast in its opening hour. Likewise, there were a few glitches and live editing problems, though things seemed to calm down toward the end of the show.
There were plenty of well-earned wins throughout the night. At least, I think there were. I only saw two of the nominees. Sean Baker took home four Oscars for Best Editing, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture, the most any individual has won at The Oscars.
This is where I’d make a little joke, but again, only had time for two of the nominees. If only Sonic 3 had got the recognition it deserved.
The night was also full of spectacular musical moments, chief among them the Bond Tribute held to honor the passing of the franchise to Amazon, as after decades of upholding the franchise’s legacy, the former producers have decided to sell out on a random Tuesday. Despite the sour moment in cinema history, Lisa of the kpop band Blackpink, Doja Cat, and recent Grammy winner Raye gave spectacular performances of “Live and Let Die”, “Diamonds Are Forever”, and “Skyfall” respectively.
The “shut up already” music returned with class, sorry, crass, to cut off several heartfelt moments, including Adrian Brody’s beautiful (yet admittedly long) acceptance speech for Best Lead Actor. I had no idea the guy could talk for so long. Maybe that’s why The Brutalist is 3.5 hours long.
Speaking of Brody, there was a lot of fun to be had outside of the auditorium. On the red carpet, Halle Berry went and kissed Adrian Brody to congratulate him on his win, not without apologizing to his wife, who was less than three feet away. Whatever happened to a pat on the back?
Despite “A Complete Unknown” winning no awards, Timothee Chalamet still managed to steal the scene during the ceremony. He didn’t particularly do anything, but you couldn’t miss that bright yellow suit in any of the crowd shots.
I’d like to end this article with an abrupt cutoff, as Hulu ended The Oscars broadcast for millions of other viewers. The stream was scheduled to end at 9:32 PM CST, and that’s exactly what it did, despite the winners for Best Actress, and Best Picture not having been announced.
The cut off ruined a beautiful speech from Sean Baker, who passionately called for the support of moviegoers and film distributors to keep the movie theater experience close to their hearts. It seems that for the most prestigious night of award season, you can either have a good host or a good service provider, but never both.
Despite the issues with Hulu, this year’s Oscars still managed to be a fantastic night of honor and… oh, they’re playing the “shut up already” music in the office because I’m over my word count. Well, until next year folks!