“I promise I’ll never come back!” That’s how host Jimmy Kimmel ended last year’s Oscars ceremony following the biggest debacle in the show’s 89-year history. The story of that perplexing Best Picture announcement flub has been told numerous times and since vindicated the late-night host from culpability. So it was no surprise when Kimmel—breaking his delirious vow—graced the stage for the second consecutive year as host, or when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway took brave steps to the podium once again to close out the night. Hollywood loves a comeback story; what better than to give last year’s principal blushers their deserved restitution on its biggest night?
The sequel, as it were, went much smoother. The 90th version of the Academy Awards ended sensibly—the correct envelope, a speech, and a “good night” in relatively quick order—concluding a solemn evening of solidarity. While Lady Bird was shut out from the awards, the rest of the major nominees all had their moments—Get Out director Jordan Peele won for Best Original Screenplay! Coco earned Best Animation and Song!—and Kimmel made sure to keep Matt Damon out of the proceedings. The Shape of Water, with a leading 13 nominations, took home the final prize and put another mythical monster into Academy history.
For those unable to watch, or who couldn’t stay up for the nearly four-hour telecast, here were some of the best, worst and memorable moments from a montage-heavy night in Hollywood.
Best Redemption: This time no hiccups, no panicked looks, no confusion. Warren Beatty struggled just a tad sliding the winning card out of its envelope, but with Faye Dunaway by his side, 50 years after Bonnie and Clyde, they successfully announced The Shape Of Water as Best Picture. “Presenting is lovelier the second time around,” said Dunaway, concluding a year-long wait to correctly hand off the Oscar to the right group of producers.
Frances McDormand: “I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight... we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed.” #Oscars2018 (via ABC)
Most Inspiring Moment: Throughout the first three-plus hours, the Oscars, much like the Golden Globes, were a tame and relatively uneventful affair. Then Frances McDormand’s name was called for Best Actress. Then she scampered on stage, placed down her statuette and took a deep breath. “I’ve got some things to say.” After thanking her family, she asked every female nominee to stand up, producing a thrilling statement. "Look around, look around...because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed,” she said.
McDormand asked those in positions of power not to discuss these ideas during the after parties, but to invite women into their offices for real discussion. She concluded with the phrase “Inclusion rider,” a clause in an actor’s contract that requires the cast and crew to be diverse in order to retain the actor. Kimmel suggested she should win an Emmy for her speech. The entire message was certainly worthy of a nomination.
Best Night: During a night celebrating diversity and calls for equality within the industry, Guillermo del Toro winning for Best Director and The Shape of Water winning Best Picture was a particularly fitting and inclusive way to end the show. Del Toro, who began his speech with “I am an immigrant,” invoked his childhood in Mexico and how dreamers can erase the lines that have been written in the sand for so long.
The craft and ingenuity that went into his directing, the utter strangeness that the “fish sex movie,” as it unfairly but understandably came to be called, could steal the hearts of so many voters, is quite an accomplishment. It also provided a sigh of relief, preventing Three Billboards from finishing the telecast as a winner that would have undoubtedly been given a Crash-like asterisk.
Worst Cliché: It’s a rule now that any movie about war can count on an Oscar in the sound categories. Dunkirk is a fine movie and its sound is a major part of Christopher Nolan’s sensory experience. But let’s not make it seem like recreating gunfire and splashing water is a particularly impressive feat every single year.
Best Name Drop: Eva Marie Saint (older than the Oscars, she joked) received a thunderous applause walking out to announce Phantom Thread as the Best Costume Design winner. But prior to reading the nominees, it was story time, where she earned everyone’s newfound respect by casually reflected on filming North by Northwest and referring to Alfred Hitchcock simply as “Fred.” It’s one of those little secret nicknames in their working relationship you feel privileged to know about all these years later.
Best Balancing Act: After dropping his Trans-Atlantic accent in a throwback opening video, Kimmel addressed the several pressing topics that have been festering for months as the Oscars approached. He looked slightly overwhelmed and overmatched, offering tepid jokes to smooth over a didactic monologue that tackled Hollywood’s sexual harassment and assault revelations along with the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
Kimmel also mentioned last year’s blunder by telling winners to wait a few extra moments in case any envelope mishaps took place. His best joke featured Oscar himself, who “keeps his hands where you can see them” and notably doesn’t have a penis. He took a jab at Mike Pence, the gender pay gap and then encouraged winners to speak from the heart once they got on stage. Levity was light and words were chosen carefully.
Best Running Gag: As a way to cut down on speech times, Kimmel gave winners some tangible motivation. Helen Mirren, doing her best “Price is Right” impression, modeled a $17,000 jet ski to be awarded for the shortest speech. Most winners acknowledged the prize in some fashion (Gary Oldman knew he had long surpassed his chance) before reading off their scribbled acceptances, forgetting that by doing so only added more time to their speeches. Costume designer Mark Bridges eventually won the boat, riding it stage left to close out the night.
Best Cameo: Speech going too long? The Oscars finally had a solution other than gentle musical nudging. Instead, Lakeith Stanfield would sprint on stage in character yelling “Get out!” It was a play on Jordan Peele’s movie title and a very clear direction for those talking too much.
Worst Follow-through: It never actually happened, a real shame and waste of Stanfield’s talents.
Best Set Design: The multitudes of color-changing crystals hanging above the Dolby Theater stage didn’t convince anyone that Hollywood’s elite could ever call themselves modest. Still, it was a marvel to admire and reminded Jane Fonda of the Orgasmatron in Barabarella. Worth all that trouble for the reference alone.
Worst Sleeves: Did Shane Vieau forget he was wearing a short-sleeved blazer? On stage to accept his production design Oscar for The Shape of Water, he boldly wore his long white button-down sleeves well outside of his jacket cuffs. Somehow, wearing Tony Montana sunglasses made his faux pas seem like a choice.
Best Presenters: Despite the fact that the funniest segment of the night came during the introductions of short films with serious subject matter, Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph made a convincing claim to host next year’s Oscars together. As they recalled the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of a couple years ago, and comically suggested that the show has become “too black,” they quickly remembered just how many white people were standing backstage alone. Haddish joked that white people with clipboards always freak her out. “What are they writing down about me?” Moments later, in what can only be an Oscars first, the two women complimented each other on their respective defecation scenes in Girls Trip and Bridesmaids. “I want you to be my momma one day,” Haddish then yelled at Meryl Streep before leaving the stage.
Most Matthew McConaughey Line: “Movies. They’re an illusion.”
Worst Requisite Gag: It is apparently not the Oscars anymore until you mix the regular, common folk with the Hollywood elites. Last year, Kimmel guided awestruck tourists inside the Dolby Theater for a meet and greet. This year, he guided actors into the TLC Chinese Theater to surprise an unsuspecting group of moviegoers watching a sneak preview of A Wrinkle in Time. Look, I’m all for Ansel Elgort shooting hot dogs into crowds, but these extended breaks in the action felt, once again, like manufactured condescension. Kimmel wanted to speed up the speeches and then he made Guillermo del Toro carry around a six-foot sub. What gives?
Most predictable awards: This year’s four acting categories weren’t particularly strong—blame some of this on the nominations themselves—which meant the frontrunners that had took home awards at the Golden Globes and every other banquet in between had all but locked up their golden statuettes. Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Gary Oldman, and Frances McDormand—all portraying bruised and brash characters—never seemed in jeopardy of losing their awards season momentum. They, and their campaigns, can rest easy now.
Best and Worst Crossover: The pun is intended for Kobe Bryant, the former Laker who won the hearts of Oscar voters with his short film Dear Basketball. His victory led to a variety of questions from different angles. Was the movie actually good? According to many that watched it, no. Has Kobe surpassed Michael Jordan because of his Oscar? Nice idea, but no. Was it impressive regardless? Sure. Was his presence discomforting in the midst of the #TimesUp movement considering his checkered past? It certainly felt that way. But was his overt jab at Fox News’s Laura Ingraham—“We’re really supposed to shut up and dribble”—a nice burn? An extremely nice burn. Should Kobe really have more Oscars than Stanley Kubrick or Orson Welles or Alfred Hitchcock? Sigh. Is it OK to feel conflicted? Absolutely.
Worst Height Difference: Is Jodie Foster really that short? Is Jennifer Lawrence really that tall? The truth probably lies in the middle, but standing beside each other to present Best Actor was just a little distracting. They did find time to make fun of Meryl Streep, who has become the champion of dismissing mean jokes from the front row with her usual grace.
Best Firsts: Rachel Morrison made Oscar history when she became the first woman to be nominated in the cinematography category (a ridiculously overdue accomplishment) for Mudbound. The winner, however, deservedly went to Roger Deakins, celebrating his work for Blade Runner 2049, featuring his neon-lit, richly colored canvas. Long considered the best in his field, Deakins received a standing ovation honoring the entire breadth of his cinematic achievements.
Worst Singing Voice: Look, I love Gael Garcia Bernal. Read that sentence again with more emphasis. But his whispery opening to “Remember Me,” which would eventually win Coco the Oscar for Best Song, began shaky and flat and he couldn’t really recover. Luckily, Miguel took over and leveled things out.
My goodness that #Oscars 90 years montage was incredible.
I cannot imagine NOT loving movies. @LightsCameraPod
Best Montage: This is what The Oscars do best. Give the best editors enough footage and time and they can splice any and every movie together into a coherent and wildly entertaining video package. Ninety years of movies is a lot to parse but I could have watched the montage for the rest of the show and gone to bed happy.
Source: Esquire
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