No, nobody acquired slapped at this 12 months’s Oscars — however then once more, there’s one thing to be stated for a bit little bit of unscripted chaos.
It’s been a wierd couple of years for the Academy Awards: The 2021 ceremony was a clumsy, socially distanced COVID-era affair that sunk to a brand new rankings low (simply 10.4 million complete viewers), and final 12 months’s ceremony featured an all-time shocker when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock dwell on stage — and noticed an enormous 60 p.c surge in complete viewership. It’s too early to inform how this 12 months’s broadcast will do, however I wouldn’t be shocked to see it dip once more, because it was a largely secure, by-the-numbers affair that was woefully quick on buzzy watercooler moments.
The present kicked off in strong if unsurprising vogue, with host Jimmy Kimmel actually parachuting in after a quick Top Gun spoof. Kimmel has this internet hosting factor down chilly after two earlier stints as emcee: He used his monologue to work the room, with pleasant jabs at Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg, and the temper within the room appeared upbeat as they celebrated a box-office resurgence and a number of first-time nominees. Some of Kimmel’s jokes did draw blood (that Babylon crack earned some groans), and all of us knew he’d throw in a number of gags about #TheSlap, too. But his Will Smith materials felt a bit flat and virtually compulsory… to not point out a few 12 months outdated at this level. (It’s not his fault: Twitter already took all the most effective jokes that night time.) His later comedy bits the place he peppered the celebrities in attendance with inane questions additionally felt extra schticky than humorous, and a questionable Robert Blake reference landed with a thud.
The set design was immaculate, with the Oscars stage bathed in gilded, Great Gatsby-style glamour. But the printed noticeably lower corners in an effort to scale back the operating time, although it nonetheless ran effectively over three and a half hours. (The Best Picture nominees have been honored with temporary montages moderately than particular person tributes, and several other winners have been abruptly lower off mid-sentence.) We nonetheless had time for loads of emotional speeches, although, together with a teary Ke Huy Quan, capping off a exceptional profession rebound by taking dwelling the Oscar for finest supporting actor for Everything Everywhere All at Once. (Having Spielberg and Harrison Ford, who labored with him as a child in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, within the room cheering him on was a stupendous full-circle second that solely the Oscars can present.) Jamie Lee Curtis’ supporting actress win additionally echoed properly again by way of a long time of Hollywood historical past as she nodded to her iconic dad and mom Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.
But the night time’s large winners have been largely pre-determined — EEAAO‘s Best Picture win was practically etched in stone before the night began — so any sense of suspense was conspicuously missing. (We’ve already heard variations of the winners’ speeches on all the opposite awards reveals.) Add that along with a largely bland ceremony, and I wouldn’t blame any viewers whose consideration began wandering across the one-hour mark. It left me a lot of time to ponder mysteries like: Is it even truthful to count on the Oscars to achieve the monumental viewership it as soon as reached, with the viewers hopelessly fragmented and social media making a glimpse of movie star an on a regular basis prevalence moderately than a particular deal with? And the place can I get my very own set of scorching canine fingers?
This 12 months’s Oscars have been at their finest after they threw us a curveball, like John Travolta’s voice welling up with real emotion when introducing the “In Memoriam” phase after the passing of his Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John and the vivacious efficiency of Best Original Song winner “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, with dozens of dancers tearing up the stage with colourful costumes and breathtaking choreography. That efficiency might have even impressed a number of viewers to take a look at the film on Netflix — and that’s what the Oscars are all about, proper?
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