What went right and what went wrong at the 93rd Oscars.
Monday, April 26, 2021 at 3:56PM by Nathaniel R
Which Steven Soderbergh film begins with a ton of promise before getting bogged down in the middle due to its relentless seriouness? Which of his films comes chaotically lurching back to messy life near the climax but still can't stick to the landing? I don't have an answer for this question except to say "The 93rd Academy Awards if it counts!" And should it?
The Soderbergh produced ceremony made good on its intentions to not be like every other Oscar ceremony. Not that that was ever in doubt given the worldwide pandemic that put such a dampening slog on awards season (among other admittedly more serious effects). More satisfying than the arbitrary changes in presentation or category order -- thrilling even -- was the pre-show buzz that this would feel more like a movie which the "opening scene" bore out...
Movies dont begin with comedic monologues like the Oscars so often have, but a lot of them do begin with stars strutting down streets with music playing and the cast names accompany them. The opening beats of the 93rd Oscars absolutely delivered in this respect; Regina King was strutting like a true queen through Union Station in a very imposing Louis Vitton gown. The shoulders were so sharp Joan Crawford would have salivated. The opening just exuded good time energy with lots of color, big stars, and kineticism.
The first few awards bits were interesting too, with an approach that felt a bit more like SAG "I am an actor" fun of hearing how people got started in the business. But then, curiously, a malaise set in.
Was it the lack of clips? That was surely one of the culprits. It's extremely strange and even weirdly self-loathing to attempt to celebrate movies while visually behaving as if those movies just do not exist.
More broadly, though, we suspect it was the self-seriousness that was so deep it involved not even writing any jokes. The Oscars should not be in the position of congratulating themselves about their own progress in terms of inclusion, diversity, and social justice. Or their own social consciousness about the pandemic... unless they can also education you and poke fun at themselves and make you giggle while doing it. In a show that's intrinsically about back-patting (as all awards shows are) it's better to not add extra back-patting. That's just too onanistic. Applause is supposed to come from the audience, not the performers.
One caveat: Normally we'd love to see the Jean Hersholt Huminatarian Awards back on the mainstage but given that these very purposefully reverent prizes were surrounded by total seriousness about things we could have been having fun talking about, there was just absolutely no tonal variety. No variety in a three hour "film" is for the extremes of cinema -- numbing hack action blockbusters or numbing static arthouse realism -- not for regular movies and certainly not for the Oscars which are by their nature vignette like in construction.
The lack of a sense of humor was something of a surprise given Soderbergh's filmography. The monotonous seriouness is surely what made the show's highlights so unanimously agreed upon if online reaction is indication: Glenn Close doing "Da Butt" and proving for the billionth time that she's an awards show treasure, Youn Yuh-jung delivering another hilarious acceptance speech (more on her later), Frances McDormand being her spontaneous iconoclastic self and howling at the moon... or the roof of the Union Station, rather; and Rita Moreno absolutely slaying the Best Picture presentation (more on that later). Please note that those highlights all came from actresses over the age of 60. We don't want to stereotype but could this be because they're old enough to give no f***s while also caring enough to be good sports? Or maybe that they've all endured so long in the brutal flash-in-the-pan world of showbiz that it's in their blood and bones to always put on a show? They're not just going to sit back and hope you passively enjoy something. They're going to grab your attention and help you feel something.
We don't want to join the boring "worst Oscars ever!" negativity of the internet. That ritual that is as predictable as the sun rising each morning, and worse yet it has virtually no relation to whether or not the show was any good since it's always the reaction. (PRO TIP: IF YOU HATE IT, DON'T WATCH. SIMPLY LET THOSE OF US WHO LOVE IT, SHARE OUR LOVES AND CRITIQUES IN PEACE). So here are some things we loved about the approach last night. Had they written some jokes... the star presenters were well chosen with a nice variety of types of stars. We absolutely loved that there was apparently no time limit on speeches. Yes, some people aren't particularly good at giving acceptance speeches but this doesn't mean everyone should get the hook after 40 seconds. We were totally into the speeches. It's an awards show, so thank you thank you thank you for letting people feel their feelings on the stage! Had they also shared film clips... the approach was very focused on the nominees (as it should be) without too much distraction from dumb comedy bits or random 'montages'. And the stars looked great. Some of the dresses were insane but the fashion was interesting across the board (more on which later).
Back to the show to wrap things up.
Placing Best Actor last seems to have drawn the most ire as it cynically suggested that everyone was assembled for a Chadwick Boseman Memorial Service rather than for Oscar Night. But even had the late great won Best Actor (as Soderbergh and the other producers clearly expected) this would have been a terrible decision. You don't want the Oscars to end on a downer. As uplifting as certain memorials can be, what they invoke is catharsis through communal sadness and do you really want people feeling melancholy at the end of the Oscars? It's supposed to be a party, and these ceremonies wisely keep the communal sadness neatly contained in the "In Memoriam" segment, where this season Chadwick already had justified pride of place. (Don't get us started on screen legend and double Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland barely noticeable in a flurry of other faces!)
The weird ending did a disservice to both Chadwick Boseman and Anthony Hopkins (the best "Best Actor" winner in several years now). If anyone could have saved that moment it would surely have been Olivia Colman who was present. As her numerous appearances at awards shows and in acceptance speeches prove, she's a master of disarming and surprising and entertaining the audience all at once which would have been perfect for that unexpected moment. We don't know if there's truth to the rumor that she was supposed to accept on Hopkins behalf but Joaquin Phoenix didn't realize it. Or maybe he got the 'wrap it up' signal from the powers that be since the show was running over time. Either way though, it's a pity.
After recent kerfuffles and cancellations the Oscars have decided that "Hosts" aren't worth the trouble. We fully understand this move while at the same time suspecting that the producers haven't really thought about what a host can mean to a show, jokes aside. And while we absolutely agree that the Academy has put way too much of an emphasis on the comedians chosen to host the show in the past -- the night is supposed to be about movies, not whatever random household name comedian is in vogue that year/decade -- not having one at all comes with its own problems, like the lack of a through line. Or, while we're on the movie topic, a protagonist if you will. We would have been happier if Regina King had stuck around, to put it bluntly. Perhaps she could have strutted us out of Union Station at the end and into a meeting for Oceans 14 for some full circle pleasure.
more from Oscar night
Best Dressed
Best Presenter - Rita Moreno
New Oscar Records
Directing Actors to Nominations & Wins - Some Statistics
Oscar Tweets
Winners List
Reader Comments (75)
Olivia de Havilland deserved so much better... RIP Queen Livvie!
Regina King, Oscars host, is the best idea I've heard in quite some time. She's universally beloved, calm, cool, collected, FUNNY...not to mention an acclaimed actress and filmmaker. This is a no-brainer!
Nothing about it felt like the Oscars. It felt too small, to intimate. I want grand ridiculousness and grandeur. It all felt off.
Really needed to see the acting category 'Oscar clips.' The Memoriam segment was on high speed and no film clips in it either. Where was the Movie Love?
It saddens me that the glorious Frances McDormand lacks the foresight to provide understanding to her audience on her behavior. The howl McDormand unleashed from the stage last night was a tribute to production sound mixer Mike Wolf Snyder. The 35 year old technical artist recently committed suicide. Clearly the loss became more pronounced in the intensity of the honor. In a published statement, McDormand spoke of how Wolf recorded their heartbeats, their every breath.
I think this was a case of the producers juggling too much? I think everyone was going to be forgiving if this ceremony was low-key and not the best. But, in a world where a pandemic is raging, there's a lot of comfort in some of the traditional Oscar traditions. I think they should have kept: BP at the end, Oscar clips, visuals from films, and a host.
While I don't think a host like Tina Fey or Kimmel would have worked, I think someone who is a Hollywood pro who can keep things moving without doing the bits would have been great (e.g., Regina King).
I think all of the changes, on top of all of the changes with this year, just made the ceremony kind of ho-hum. It also felt too insidery, even if you love the Oscars.
Grandeur was simply not going to happen during a pandemic. Simple as that. I'm sure next year will be a return to normal.
Also loved that everyone got to make full speeches without feeling the looming threat of Damocles' sword. More of that please.
I didn't watch it and thank God. What was worse? This or the 1989 ceremony produced by Alan Carr?
Olivia de Havilland warranted her own special tribute, CLIPS included.
It was classy, but boring. I did appreciate the more crisp, film aesthetic to the way it was shot since it's the highest honor for films and the Oscars are never presented as such in the way they're shot. But the show was way too self-serious with a lot of back-patting and no FUN. I mean, I guess they did that music sequence and whatnot, but I was hardly paying attention by that point. It also just felt so empty and low in attendance, DUH, but still... meh. Pretty good winners, though.
McDormand kind of snapped at Chloe Zhao for referring to her as Fern. I love Frances's hate for BS.
If anyone ever doubts that the Oscars actually secretly love Glenn Close, note what a gift they provided to her by ensuring that NO CLIPS of Hillbilly Elegy would be played during the ceremony.
Ugh you are so right on this. Co-sign all critiques of the show, but my favorite here is your Pro Tip to the haters. It's exhausting. I understand not everyone obsessively follows the Oscars like us here, but MAN how easily they'll complain when they don't like an outcome...not just the show format but the winners themselves.
I was rooting for Boseman too but the outrage has been way off-base. I've heard multiple people claim "HOW!?" while adding a caveat that they haven't seen The Father yet. Null and void.
Two things we can all agree on:
1. Glenn Close is a national treasure and such a damn good sport.
2. Always always always end with Best Picture. period.
TV Ratings are in!
Viewership reached an all-time low, according to reports, with the 2021 show averaging only 9.85 million people per Nielsen's Live + Same Day preliminary national numbers. That's a 58 percent decline from the 2020 Oscars, which drew 23.64 million viewers and previously held the record for worst ratings in the show's history.
Felt like a funeral. No laughter, speeches filled with anger--where were Maya Rudolph & Kirsten Wiig?
Who determined the seating arrangements? It was mind-boggling to see Glenn Close stuffed in a booth with Sting (?) and Daniel Kaluuya - with his Oscar sitting on the table right in front of her.
*I did like that whatever the category was, the wall pictures changed in the background to show past winners in that category.
The big build-up of placing the Best Actor category last and turn it into a Boseman coronation was a complete backfire. Really felt like a great La La Land/Moonlight moment.
I kind of enjoyed some aspects of it, and on balance I’m glad I stayed up until gone 4am U.K. time watching it... Unlike many recent years where I loathe at least one Best Picture nominee, I at the very least ‘like’ the nominees I’ve been able to watch, even though we have no opportunity over here yet to see either The Father or Nomadland (The Father is scheduled to open here in JUNE!)...
I mainly just wanted more clips, and I think they absolutely had time to include the nominated songs given they found time to waste on a glorified pub quiz not far from the end. Husavik’s performance in Iceland was perhaps the best ‘moment’ of the whole thing, and it wasn’t even in the show.
And whomsoever came up with that In Memoriam speed and tone needs to report to Human Resources.
I didn't hate the show, and in fact, liked a good deal of the first two-thirds. The opening with Regina King was great, and it felt like there was energy in the room for a while.
But tonally, it went off the rails. The seriousness of many of the speeches became a downer at some point (although thank God for Youn Yuh-jung!) and then the song game came out of nowhere (and thank God for Glenn Close) and it seemed out of place. The In Memoriam segment was not good. Angela Bassett's dramatic monologue intro lasted longer than the montage, which went way too fast and looked like it had been prepared by some eighth graders for their Zoom class.
Rita Moreno was fantastic and a bit of welcome energy, but Harrison Ford and Joaquin Phoenix were flat and awkward. Saving Best Actor for the big emotional moment at the end was a risk, and like some risks, didn't end well. With Phoenix being so uncomfortable on live camera, he made it worse.
I'm glad they went in a different direction than other award shows. Points for that and a strong beginning. Let's hope next year is more celebratory and fun.
TOM - I agree re: the wall pictures. Was fun to see Mo'Nique and Rachel Weisz in the background during Supporting Actress.
One thing that was different in a good way for me was.....I felt emotionally included in the proceedings. It was almost cathartic, in a way, after this past year. I found myself starting to clap or tear up as if I were in the room with them. It was intimate. The lack of orchestra, the lack of a big proscenium stage--both contributed to that. I also loved the global inclusivity of having nominees via satellite from all over the world.
Though it needed clips!!! My goodness. How did the show still run to over 3 hours without clips and montages and musical numbers and Price Waterhouse reps taking up time????
I was rooting for Carey, or at least she could lose to Viola.
It’s crazy honestly how Viola is the only 2-time lead actress winner at SAG who still does not have a lead Oscar.
Good--
Indeed, the great moments were provided by Glenn Close, Yuh-jung Youn, and Frances McDormand.
Bad--
I echo the comments of those dismayed by the horrifyingly bad "In Memoriam" montage. Perhaps the worst ever? Olivia de Havilland getting the same amount of time (1 second?) as everyone else, including so many unknown figures, was unforgivable. The Oscars should seriously just ask permission to use the TCM montage.
Also, I realized that I missed the orchestra send-off (something I usually dislike) when makeup artists and a few other winners spoke 8-10 minutes using their "Oscar speech" to instead discuss their life's journey in painstaking, self-aggrandizing detail. Made Frances McDormand's brief wolf howl and short Shakespeare quip all the more refreshing!
Best thing: Glenn Close escaped from infamy (by losing a consolation award) and also commited one of the most infamous moments in history (by doing the “butt” dance).
What a horrible presentation. Regina King strutting in with an Oscar in her hand was embarrassing. They should have delivered her in an Escalade. The introductions of the nominees were stupid. Laura Dern basically congratulated most of the supporting actor nominees for being black. The acceptance speeches were ridiculously over-long and self-indulgent. I turned it off after Daniel Kaluuya. What a self-absorbed jerk. He showed it during the globes, SAG, etc. I don't think I will ever watch the Oscars again. Can't anyone say thank you and move off the stage. Seriously, watch acceptance speeches from the 50s and 60s. Winners were so much more humble and polite. The whole thing was self-indulgent in the worst way. They should have had Trump host it was so stupid.
I loved the presentation, but I'm also ready to admit that it didn't all work...which is part of why I enjoyed it so much: take a risk, fail, move on (very Soderbergh).
Some things that worked:
- Full-length speeches—so what if some were self-indulgent. Isn't that the point? Also, coming out of a pandemic, where many people haven't spoken in public in person for a year, it seemed especially appropriate to let the winners have their uninterrupted moments
- The personal touches
- No lame jokes and dance numbers—if you don't have Hugh Jackman or Billy Crystal, just leave it alone*
- The Hersholt Awards
- Song performances in the pre-show
- Genderflipping the Lead Acting presenters
Some things that didn't
- The lighting—too dark
- In Memoriam—too rushed (loved the Stevie song though)
- Best Picture—too early (needs to be the finale)
Next year: hire Jackman again!
*unless Glenn Close is involved
Am I the only one who missed having a host? I like those little comedy moments even if they’re cringey. I mean look at how Glenn close became one of the mvps of the night. Every so often I love going back and watching old opening monologues on YouTube. I miss them!
After the Globes and the SAGs, my hopes were very, very low. It was easy to like it just enough to feel that the Oscars still recognized some good things in a terrible time. I do miss acting clips, though, and I’m also grateful that I got to see just about everything well in time for the show.
Let's be honest: NOTHING worked. The worst ceremony ever.
Bring back the hosts and laughter!
MO, I agree with you on pretty much everything. And I like Regina King, but I don't understand the good reviews she is getting for last night. I don't think she was any better than any of the other presenters.
Rufus Sewell is good luck! Last year he appeared opposite Renee Zellweger in "Judy" and this year he starred with Anthony Hopkins in "The Father." Sewell is appearing in "Old" so perhaps Gael Garcia Bernal or Vicky Krieps should prepare for an Oscar win.
Ms. Close may not have won an Academy Award, but she won the 93rd Academy Awards!
Whoopi Goldberg is an actress over the age of 60 who has also proven herself to be one of the all-time greatest Oscar hosts (probably the greatest in my lifetime). I don't understand why they don't just invite her back instead of trying something new.
The in Memorial was the worst,agree with Orwell just let HIM do it. Also the order was bad, having big historical moment like Zhao winning happen extremely early lessened her moment and gave away Best pic early as well. Having actor last was basically saying we are here to celebrate the total of movies but this one performance is more important than any other category and bigger than what should be the goal which is to make a great movie.
I agree with much of this. The whole thing was way too serious and the lack of film clips throughout the show was mind-boggling. The little tributes were nice, but we are there to honor their achievements for the films this year.
There absolutely needs to be a host. I'm in favor of a comedian, or at least a showman like Hugh Jackman who knows how to entertain. God knows we need to laugh during this ceremony. I agree with Joy Behar who said it's a bad sign when Glenn Close is the funniest person in the room (no shade to Glenn who was fabulous and stole the show, but seriously).
And I seriously cannot believe the order of the last 3 categories. That is unforgivable. They did both Chadwick and Sir Anthony dirty by that. It also doesn't help that Zellweger and Phoenix are two of the most awkward actors in the business and they are presenting the last two awards.
And social media has just ruined the Oscars. The "OSCARS NOT RELEVANT" critique comes from the far-right who criticizes the "wokeness" of Hollywood and from the left who criticizes the nominees and then lambasts the winners if it doesn't turn out the way they like. What's the most common connection is that both of these groups do not even watch the films nominated, so they should just take a seat and STFU.
You must do a better job moderating some of these comments “critiques” that are actually poorly veiled racism.
Regina King seriously kicked ass in that intro. Give her another Emmy! The show went out with a whimper and I went to bed not feeling so great about it, but I do think this is a great group of winners. This season has been eternal and while it brought some great films, I'm happy to move on and glad they attempted something different with the show. On to 2021 contenders!
I am in a minority in that thoroughly enjoyed this ceremony from start to finish. It was so nice to see an awards show be an awards show and not a zoom meeting (as the pandemic has necessitated).
It was almost like the producers took a cue from the "Schitt's Creek" family during their iconic Emmy sweep. Rent an intimate venue and a microphone and have the awards show feel like an awards show while still adhering to protocol. I also wasn't mad about any of the wins, although I would put Frannie's performance 5th in that group of nominees.
As much as I missed the clips, I had zero desire for clips from this batch of nominees. Great job all around.
I was expecting more of a movie feel for the ceremony, as they advertised. The only "movie" part was the beginning credits. After that, it was a normal awards show. A wasted opportunity IMO.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. I think we just need to be grateful we had an in-person show. They made the best of what they could do—the only big issue for me was not presenting Best Picture last. That just felt wrong on SO many levels.
Although Olivia Colman could have saved the Best Actor mess I doubt she would have wanted to. Striking the tone of happy for Anthony but paying tribute to Chadwick and having to wrap up the show would be awful.
Great review, Nathaniel. You're spot on, as usual. I did love the use of the location, and the opening and some of the awards...
Raul: I mean, was McDormand...unaware...of the implication of her playing a character whose closest thing to a full name is "Fern McD"? So the movie version of Nomadland is kind of "Imagine a reality where Frances McDormand was never an actress. What is her life, then?"
It was really funny to refresh the Wikipedia page for this year's Oscars and see that my TV was just a second or two behind the updates happening on the page. It also took an extra few seconds to change Boseman's win to Hopkins'. 😂
@Aaron: Amen to your comments about Zellweger and Phoenix, and esp about social media. God, the bellyaching from all sides is just too much sometimes. All that rage for an awards show.
I LOLed at you Prot tip, The show was awful, but the awards were reall good, so I wouldn't say I'm in the 'worst oscar ever!' club. And someone in another post said this show was the way it was because of the pandemic, but the Emmys were too and they were funny, so were the Goyas! There's just no excuse this show has been as bad as it was. Even some important details fixed as Marlee Matlin presentation or Olivia de Havilland at In Memoriam could have improved the ceremony, but I don't know, I just want to think they just focus more on health protocols for the ceremony than the cermony itself. God bless Glenn Close and her moves.
If the diehards are even saying the Oscars were dogshit this year, then believe them the first time. It's not hating for hating sake when the show is genuine trash. That's not the case every year.
LA Times reports that Glenn Close dance was carefully scripted - a rather embarrassing low-point for an 8-time nominee, although she looked good in the electric blue sequined outfit, with the shock of white hair.
Olivia de Havilland was the only thing that bothered me any. I'm used to the Oscars being boring and/or annoying.
Only a total snob would call that a low point for Glenn Close. She stole the show!
I guess the second shot made you even kinder!
I honestly don't understand why the producers are so fixated in ruining the Oscars every single year. Every choice they made this year failed.
whunk, I thought the Close thing was tacky, too! Check the internet for more "snobs."