The Oscars Did This To Themselves
That was entertaining, wild, crazy, lame, confusing and a real "fucking" bummer.
The Oscars are supposedly about movies.
Like that’s the entire point of them. A bunch of people from your favorite movies go up on stage and give awards to people in other movies. I know I’m saying the word “movies” a lot, but that’s the point of this entire (and oftentimes grueling) march from the film festivals to the various critics’ awards to the nominations to the guild awards to the eventual Academy Awards.
I dive into this world because I usually enjoy it. The drama, the chaos, the constant chance for surprise, the behind-the-scenes intrigue. Everyone has a hobby of one kind or another, mine just happens to be loving movies (and then digging a bit deeper).
I don’t have much to add to the Will Smith discourse. What do I really have to say? You can read this thread from inside the Dolby Theater or read this article from Vulture about the incident or go on Twitter and search “Will Smith” and see what happens. Best of luck to you.
It certainly wasn’t staged, Chris Rock’s reaction and the hushed silence of the crowd said as much, but I do think that this conflict is the inevitable result of the unavoidable downslide that happens when a show that should be about celebrating craft becomes an unmitigated plea for eyeballs and attention.
Like I wrote last week, I understand that the Oscars aren’t pure. It’s a bunch of rich people in a room handing out gold statuettes. But, it’s just never been this brazenly gross in its attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
The hosts—Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall—consistently ridiculed the nominees in increasingly lazy ways and committed to bits that could be boiled down to “remember this thing?” It would’ve been funny if it was funny. It wasn’t.
The jokes fell flat time and time again, and the newly promoted segments in which Twitter got to vote for “Cheer-Worthy Moments” and its “Fan Favorite Movie” became proof that Zack Snyder zealots are just online more than anyone else.
All of this was done by shunting the actual awards to the side—with eight of the 23 awards relegated to pre-taped segments—and so instead of actually celebrating the art form, we instead got DJ Khaled yelling platitudes and an odd collection of random references to films of yore.
The best parts of the telecast were the ones that weren’t planned into oblivion: Troy Kotsur’s emotional speech, Rachel Zegler getting to present, Jenny Beaven of Cruella dissecting costume design, Dune being Dune.
Perhaps the most exhilarating moment of this year’s Academy Awards didn’t even happen on Sunday. On Friday night, Samuel L. Jackson was given an honorary Oscar by Denzel Washington. The real love and admiration between the two are evident. It’s such a beautiful moment (between a pair of the most successful and beloved actors we have) that would’ve been great during a live show but instead looks more like the Zapruder Film or The Blair Witch Project.
To put it plainly, the Oscars sucked. But that’s all been overshadowed by the shock and awe of the Smith-Rock altercation. This isn’t sustainable. Movie obsessives will begin to tune out in mass the junkier the show gets, and the casual fans will get bored next year when there isn’t a slap-fight and all they’re left with are a bunch of corny jokes and mediocre winners.
It’s a real Monkey’s Paw situation. The Academy Awards got what they wanted … in the worst possible way. They’re a front-page story and they may never stop trending, but a night about movies became the worst of reality television. When you reach this point, it may not be possible to ever go back.
Okay, we’re done with that shit now…
Let’s get to Everything Everywhere All At Once, a movie I’ve already seen twice and one of the best movies of the year (and in the very-early running for this decade).
The sci-fi/action/rom-com/family-drama epic is one of my two favorites of the calendar year and easily one of the more innovative things I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a theater in a long time. It’s not just brilliant set-piece after brilliant set-piece, however, as it’s a relevant story about generational familial trauma and the dynamics that sprout from it. This may sound all high and mighty, but it also features characters with hot dogs for fingers and a recurring reference to the hit song "Absolutely (The Story of a Girl).”
I wish I could say more but the less you know going in the better it’ll be. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a theater, though, with a more genuine audience reaction of pure delight.
