The 88th Annual Academy Awards

The 88^th Annual Academy Awards

Lisa’s Oscar Commentary

“Welcome to the White People’s Choice Awards.”  These were the opening comments of host, Chris Rock.  For the second consecutive year, all the nominees for the major awards were white.  Leading up to the Oscars, there was a lot of commentary and conversation about #OscarsSoWhite.  The conversation has been about inclusion, not just diversity….inclusion of all genders and people of color in the filmmaking process, creating real roles portraying real people – people of all ages, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicities and color – film and filmmaker should reflect the world.  Though some people chose to boycott the Oscars, others chose to be part of the conversation.  Chris hit the subject hard and kept hitting it.  There were uncomfortable moments, humorous moments, and not so humorous ones.  Though it was important to address the elephant in the room, and it was necessary to make people uncomfortable, he never successfully moved to the stage where people could relax and enjoy the show.  Unfortunately, it all became very one note and began to lose the impact of the first five minutes.  In an election year where the slate of nominees offers enough fodder for comedians to deliver hours of material, not one joke was fired over that bow.  The one time where Chris strayed from the #OscarsSoWhite mission, was when he sold girl scout cookies to the audience on behalf of his daughters.  The girl scout cookie sale, Ryan Gossling, and Louis C.K. were the funniest moments of the show.  People who were expecting a funny show because Chris Rock was hosting were surely disappointed.

While the show was all about black and white, the red carpet was full of color.  Though some dazzled in black – Jennifer Garner, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lawrence, and Julianne Moore – and some dazzled in white – Olivia Wilde, Lady Gaga, and Rooney Mara – color ruled the day.  Winners Alicia Vikander in yellow Louis Vuitton and Brie Larson in blue Gucci both looked like a breath of fresh air – their vibrant enthusiasm shined through their ease and natural grace.  Metallic sequin dresses were a trend that shimmered in emerald green sequins on Saoirse Ronan (in custom Calvin Klein), and blue/purple on Naomi Watts (in Armani Prive), and in gold on Margot Robbie (in Tom Ford).  Ruling the red carpet in red were Charlize Theron (in Dior) who can do no wrong, and the surprise red carpet success, Olivia Munn in a one-shoulder Stella McCartney, and the best dressed pregnant woman, Chrissy Teigen in Marchesa.  Though Charlize, Naomi, Saoirse, and Margot will all make best-dressed lists, there is one goddess of the red carpet who once again was breath-taking and stood out among all the others.  The best dressed of the night was Cate Blanchett in seafoam Armani silk chiffon with floral appliques…..the color, the shape, the way she just seemed to float through the crowd, she truly is the Queen. 

Though so many women were dressed beautifully, there were some that stood out and some that disappointed.  Tilda Swinton is a fashion icon and stands in a class by herself even though she looked like she was doing a tribute to David Bowie.  Jennifer Jason Leigh wore a dusty pink Marchese dress that looked like an arts and crafts project – the color was all wrong, she looked uncomfortable and possibly drunk.  The worst dressed of the night had to be Heidi Klum, in a lavender Marchese gown that looked like a 1970’s negligée or a Project Runway challenge loser.

The men mostly looked fabulous.  Lots of navy tuxedos, black velvet, tight pants, and shrunken styles – shorter pants, shorter jackets, and shorter sleeves.  Eddie Redmayne and Henry Cavill stood out in black velvet while Common stood out in white.  Bryan Cranston, Liev Schrieber, and Leonardo DiCaprio all looked elegant in classic well-tailored tuxes.  But the best dressed of the night was in a class by himself…no one could compete with Jacob Tremblay.  When an adorable, smart, poised nine year old walks the red carpet in a perfectly fitted Armani tuxedo, with his hands in his pockets and grinning ear to ear, everyone else might has well have worn a rental from Men’s Wearhouse.  So glad he was allowed to stay up past his 8 o’clock bedtime.

Fortunately, Jacob Tremblay was not the only highlight of the show.  Lady Gaga delivered a moving performance of her nominated song “Til it Happens to You.”  She was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, joined on stage by a group of women survivors of sexual assaults, and received a standing ovation.  Another highlight, in case you missed it, Brie Larson hugged each and every woman as they exited the stage.  She may have just surpassed Jennifer Lawrence for “Oscar Winning Actress You Want to Hang Out With.”  The audience also gave standing ovations for Joe Biden, Ennio Morriconne (Best Musical Score for the Hateful Eight), and for Leo.  After five nominations and twenty-three years since What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Leo finally won an Oscar and gave the best speech of the night.  This year, the Academy had the brilliant idea to run the list of names that people wanted to thank on the scroll at the bottom of the screen so that recipients could use their speaking time to say something more profound.  Few people grasped that concept.  Fortunately Leo was one of them.

The other highlights of the night were the big surprises.  There were three big ones.  First, after a performance that brought people to their feet, Lady Gaga did not win.  Second, the sentimental and Vegas favorite, Sylvester Stallone did not win.  After 40 years since Rocky won best picture and Stallone didn’t win an Oscar, it would have been great to see him win for playing Rocky Balboa one last time.  The final shock of the night was the Best Picture winner.  Spotlight won the first award of the night for Best Original Screenplay, and stood aside all night to watch The Revenant and Mad Maxx sweep the bulk of the awards until the final award of the night – and the Best Picture is Spotlight! 

Three hours and thirty-six minutes of boring thank yous with very little comic relief.  At least Leo won.   Maybe next year will be #OscarsLessWhite and #OscarsMoreFunny.