EDITOR'S NOTE: Hello readers. My brain is always so scattered post Oscar. The hosting gig, which so occupies discussions of the show each year in real life and online, is curiously the part of the show that I always find least interesting. I'm there for the movies and the celebrities, not the jokes.
But recognizing that this is an uncommon blind spot, I asked three of our contributors, Sean Donovan, Chris Feil, and Eric Blume to weigh in on Jimmy Kimmel as host. They're joined by new team member Kim Rogers, who is a talented actress I saw in a play a couple of years ago, who also likes to blog. Naturally they didn't quite obey the Kimmel directive... but who can concentrate on one topic with Oscar's Envelope Gate and Trevante Rhodes running around in his undies. Here is their conversation. - Nathaniel R
CHRIS: So how well has everyone studied the Oscar Zapruder film of the Moonlight team taking the stage?
SEAN: I feel like it could be the next season of SERIAL- unpacking who had what envelope when, and why, and how many duplicates? so many questions
CHRIS: First of which: has anyone checked on Trevante Rhodes? Is he ok?
KIM: SPEAKING OF TREVANTE, please tell me y'all have seen this.
SEAN: I was going to say, Trevante's more than okay, he is looking FINE.
KIM: *fans self* Oh right, we're supposed to be talking about Jimmy
CHRIS: That Calvin Klein ad turned us all into Trevante Rhodes when Moonlight won Best Picture.
Jimmy Kimmel, though. I so wish Isabelle Huppert could have participated in the Mean Tweets bit. Her unimpressed shrug after whatever lame tweet would have singlehandedly made it worth having Kimmel host.
SEAN: One nonchalant shrug from Huppert and YOU'RE DOWN! On the topic of mean tweets, did anyone else sort of resent bits from Kimmel's talk show taking up Oscar time? Like that and the Matt Damon theatrics?
KIM: I mean, it was to be expected because the gig was as much of a commercial for his show (ABC synergy!) as it was for hosting.
I definitely missed montages of FILMS (I can't help it, I love montages), which were definitely cut at the expense of the Kimmel bits. I think the Damon stuff would have been more effective if they had just left it to when he was on stage because it was funniest when it was "Ben Affleck and guest" and then Jimmy trying to play him off. That's the problem with Kimmel 90% of the time: he just doesn't know when to rein in.
Ben Affleck and "Guest"
CHRIS: Meanwhile the ceremony kind of pulled back? I missed the Best Picture clips throughout, and then one long one at the end of the night was so longer winded for the end of the ceremony.
SEAN: Like the "tour bus" segment that took nine hundred years to wrap up
KIM: I was DELIGHTED by the tour bus group at first, if only for all the Ryan Gosling memes it immediately produced. But agreed, that started to drag.
SEAN: We also had that moment with Sunny Pawar, when Jimmy Kimmel joined the long list of white media personalities who feel like they can touch this kid and throw him around like their own little prop of cuteness. That seriously started to grate on me as awards season marched on: leave sunny alone!
ERIC: I'll play devil's advocate. I thought Kimmel was one of the best oscar hosts ever. He kept it moving briskly, was warm and generous to the nominees, but had enough of an edge to keep things interesting. he's thankfully less soft than Ellen Degeneres, more experienced than Jimmy Fallon, and is so much funnier and less obnoxious than Chris Rock.
tour bus segment - funny or way too long or both?
KIM: I'm way more on the positive side of his hosting job myself, despite the nitpicking that I've done. I'd like to see James Corden take a stab at it eventually. Mainly because I adore him.
CHRIS: Our only future hope is Billy Eichner
SEAN: Billy would have speed raced through that tour bus crowd, screaming all the way!
CHRIS: But what someone like Eichner has that hosts like Kimmel so sorely lack is a complete love and admiration for movies and the Oscars.
ERIC: That's why i think it's fine that we had elements from Kimmel's show in the oscar show. It's expected and part of his "brand". it'd be like billy eichner not going out on the street, etc. the part where they brought in the tour bus group was amazing...a reminder to all those famous folks that these are the real people. from the start of the show with the Timberlake number, the emphasis seemed to be on FUN, which is definitely not the case with most years, where it feels tense and uncomfortable. I found my own viewing experience affected in turn...even when people who I wanted to win then lost, I still felt happy for the winner. and it culminated in the amazing grace of the La La Land and Moonlight teams. What could have been such an awful moment was handled with such grace, class, and generosity.
SEAN: Do we think Kimmel would have been meaner if this were the Golden Globes? This year I keep thinking it's like Fallon and Kimmel were switched: Fallon being a safe kind of oscar-friendly host and Kimmel able to bring more of the sting the Globes looks for
that messy messy finale
KIM: Which is why I think James Corden would work well because he's SO effusive about loving things. Re: the Golden Globes, everyone is lobbing softballs there when compared with Gervais. I don't ever think of Kimmel as MEAN per se, his delivery is just more...biting? It's the tonal quality of his voice to me. I don't know if I could have handled Fallon for the Oscars. He's still on my shit list for the Trump hair-ruffling interview.
ERIC: I agree that Corden would be a fantastic host. His warmth is infectious and genuine. I was actually surprised how little Kimmel imposed himself on the show and instead seemed to fold himself inside it...he kept it classy and positive. Has Mel Gibson started to lose his mind? I ask that not rhetorically but rather borderline-sympathetically.
SEAN: But are they passionate about movies? I agree with Chris. Cinephilia has never been thought of as a criterion for an Oscar host but wouldn't it make a nice change? We wouldn't get as many "lol I didn't see this pretentious nerd movie" jokes, which somehow befell both Elle and Moonlight. Judging from the award totals, I think it's safe to say people saw Moonlight.
KIM: I think Corden's sketches where he goes through a big star's filmography in one go (the Hanks one is especially memorable) show a passion for movies. He's pretty plugged in with all pop culture. And he would definitely bring back a song and dance number a la Crystal, which I MISS.
SEAN: I want Hugh Jackman back! Then we won't have to pretend any of it is actually funny; we can just enjoy a handsome song and dance man!
KIM: I kind of feel like Hugh won't be back before he WINS one for himself? I felt the thirst during Les Mis and feel like he maybe doesn't want to get lumped into the hosting thing? I could be way off base.
I DO miss him hosting the Tonys though.
ERIC: The Hugh Jackman year was one of the best ever. But he's a unicorn! Nobody else has his particular combination of insane talents. Wonder if Lin-Manuel Miranda could do a bang-up job?
