by Eric Blume
How can you sit through the Oscars, see each of your favorites lose in essentially every category, but still come away thinking it’s one of the best Oscars in history? That was the miracle of last night’s show.
Last year, the 94th Academy Awards, was Oscar’s nadir...
The slap, followed by Will Smith being allowed to go to the stage to give that unbearable speech, was symbolic of Hollywood’s worst traits: gross behavior condoned, indulgent self-congratulation, and celebration of crass commercialism (further exacerbated by awarding Best Picture to one of the most puerile films possible). As someone watching the show for over three decades, I remember being hurt, offended, and depressed, wondering if I would even watch the next telecast.
What a difference a year makes. This year’s broadcast was so brisk, efficient, generous-hearted, and deeply felt that it almost erased those memories. While Jimmy Kimmel may not have killed it, offering mostly soft jokes, those jokes still worked, and were purposely forward-thinking: the writers and producers wanted to acknowledge last year’s debacle, but not dwell on it. It felt emblematic of a year where we were moving forward.
I didn’t think any of the major winners were the absolute best in their category. But receiving the award meant SO much to each one of them, and they all delivered such winning, genuine acceptance speeches, that you’d be hard-pressed to deny them their award. For me personally, I will always feel Cate Blanchett gave the performance of the year across any category and am sad she didn’t win an Oscar for an all-timer piece of acting. But with Yeoh, we have not only an historic win, but a deserved one. Yeoh didn’t win just for political reasons… her performance is complex and moving, and it will age beautifully over the years. Blanchett has two Oscars and may likely win her third eventually anyway. She had been sending the message that she wanted Yeoh to win for months now, which is always a great thing to see, and the simple fact of the matter is we will always have both performances captured forever.
I thought Brendan Fraser was the weakest performance of the five in his category, but again, he’s so visibly touched by this role and this opportunity, I felt happy for him. I’ve loved Jamie Lee Curtis since seeing Halloween in 1978, and I think she should have easily been up for two or three Oscars by now (take your choice from True Lies, Freaky Friday, or A Fish Called Wanda). I worked with her once and her behavior was abominable, so I am always on Eyeroll Patrol for her “let’s be kind” persona. But again, this woman has been in the business for 45 years, bringing a lot of people a lot of joy onscreen, and a career award for her feels right.
Almost every speech across every category was so giving and unselfish, with so many artists truly paying tribute to the collective talent that goes into making art, and how each person is carried by other people on their team. What these folks are really like to work with is anybody’s guess, but it all felt very genuine and very positive.
And while Everything Everywhere All at Once wasn’t my favorite film this year (it was my number five), it’s incredible that a film that zany, original, difficult, and just downright weird won the biggest prize of the industry. The Daniels couldn’t be more gregarious or open-hearted, and while I would have voted for Tar or Banshees, the win for EEAAO will also weather gloriously over time.
Most years, you leave the Oscars sad about your favorites who didn’t win. And while none of my favorites won, my walkaway is optimistic and bright. I’m hoping this year’s show is the model of ones to come.