How to possibly recap what will likely go down in history as one of the weirdest Oscar ceremonies of all time? From the Best Picture mix-up when La La Land was accidentally read instead of the actual winner, Moonlight, to Jimmy Kimmel pranking a bunch of everyday people on a Hollywood tour (or were they actors?), to candy falling from the sky, to a producer who’s still alive being featured in the In Memoriam segment, it was a wildly entertaining if dysfunctional evening. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a few steps back and start with the red carpet.
While I agree with the fundamental notion of the “#AskHerMore” campaign, as someone that appreciates the intense handiwork that goes into the gorgeous gowns the women of the Oscars rock each year, I have to mention a few of my favorite dresses of the evening: Brie Larson’s stunning black Oscar de la Renta number, Ruth Negga’s red Valentino, Emma Stone’s Givenchy Haute Couture, Taraji P. Henson’s custom Alberta Ferretti and Laura Dern’s Rodarte gown (to name a few).
Lest all the focus be on the women, I would be remiss if I didn’t give shout-outs to Pharrell Williams’ Chanel get-up, Ryan Gosling’s Gucci look, Mahershala Ali’s classic Ermenegildo Zegna Couture design, Dev Patel’s white Burberry number and Riz Ahmed’s bright blue, dashing suit (also by Ermenegildo Zegna Couture).
One thing you may not have noticed was the fashion as activism trend on this year’s red carpet. Many of the evening’s stars’ dresses and tuxedos were adorned with blue ribbons in support of The American Civil Liberties Union to show solidarity with the group’s efforts.
Those that partook included Hamilton and Moana composer Lin Manuel Miranda and his mother, as well as Loving star Ruth Negga and supermodel Karlie Kloss. For many, this felt especially poignant in the wake of President Trump’s election and the subsequent actions he has taken.
Now, stepping inside the venue. Here’s my take on Kimmel’s multifarious hosting job. I can only imagine the intense pressure that comes with hosting the Oscars and feel awful for him that the Best Picture mix-up (the blame for which lies firmly on the shoulders of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers) happened to occur during his stint as host.
Yet, on the whole, I felt like Kimmel’s performance as a host lacked the usual class, wit and sensitivity to the delicate balance between what’s funny and what’s potentially racist or sexist that the Oscars requires. For example, having the crowd yell out “Mahershala” (the name of the Moonlight actor that had literally just been given the award for Best Supporting Actor, the first Muslim actor ever to win an Oscar) when they’re surprising a bunch of tourists might come off as a little insensitive, especially if merely moments later you mock the name of an Asian member in the incoming group.
Also, holding up Lion’s Sunny Powar, who speaks fairly little English, while The Lion King music plays is maybe just a bit strange. Also, why insert a Mean Tweets into the middle of the Oscars? It felt like the Oscars, which is meant to be glamorous and unique was simply devolving into Jimmy Kimmel Live! before our eyes, using up valuable time that could’ve been allocated to the speeches of the individuals that have worked their entire lives to make it up onto that stage.
Last but not least, Kimmel has been called out by numerous sources for stealing a joke from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s 2014 Golden Globes about the weight-loss expected of women in Hollywood that male actors are praised for and jumping on board with Ellen’s 2014 idea to provide the audience at the Oscars with food (in her case, pizza, in his, sweet-treats).
As far as the winners themselves go, my main qualm is that, given the sexual harassment suits Casey Affleck has settled out of court, he shouldn’t have won Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea. If you discredit the ovation given by his brother Ben Affleck and their close friend Matt Damon, the majority of his peers in the Oscars audience seemed to know it too. You could see it in the way that Brie Larson cooly stepped back and let him have his moment without clapping or responding really at all. You could see it in the death glare that Denzel Washington gave Affleck when he was mentioned in his acceptance speech.
As many have commented, not only should Affleck not have won, he shouldn’t have been nominated in the first place. Additionally, what kind of message does it send that Nate Parker’s sexual assault charges (of which he was acquitted) led to his film The Birth of a Nation being completely cast aside by the Academy, yet the allegations surrounding Affleck had seemingly no impact? Maybe this is to be expected in an era where the fact that the President of the United States once said “Grab her by the pussy” was normalized as “locker room talk,” but that didn’t make it sit any better.
Now, last but by no means least, we have to address that incredibly awkward moment between La La Land and Moonlight. Warren Beatty looked confused from the moment he opened the envelope, and he passed it off to Faye Dunaway, who announced La La Land to be the winner of the Best Picture as though there was nothing strange about the fact that it said “Emma Stone for La La Land” on it at all. Of course, now, we know that this was the second copy of Stone’s Best Actress card. This is when the Academy could’ve intervened much sooner.
While I understand that everyone involved was likely in a state of shock, they awkwardly shuffled around in the background whilst three of La La Land’s producers read their acceptances speeches until Jordan Horowitz (one of the producers of La La Land) to take the mic back and announce Moonlight as the rightful winner.
The audience was stunned. The casts and crews of both La La Land and Moonlight were shocked. Kimmel was noticeably uncomfortable. Beatty took to the stage to clarify the source of the error (read: to ensure everyone that it wasn’t that he and Dunaway were being racist or homophobic). And then, finally, Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and producer Adele Romanski were given the opportunity to make brief speeches.
While this year’s Oscars was a triumph for diversity in the sense that Moonlight, a low-budget, independent film exploring the sexuality of a young African-American man over the course of three stages of his life, became the first LGBT+ film to win Best Picture, the unfortunate mishap inevitably tarnished the quality of this moment.
As Stephen Colbert put it on Late Night With Stephen Colbert, “It should’ve been a great moment for African Americans, but there’s always a catch. ‘Here’s your Oscar, but some white folks get to touch it first.’”
This, when combined with the uncouth nature of many of Kimmel’s jokes throughout the evening and Affleck’s win, made this year’s Oscars feel like a one step forwards, two steps backwards kind of situation.
