The 91^st Annual Academy Awards

No host?  No problem.  Give us Adam Lambert and Queen performing “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” every year.  The was possibly the best opening for the show in the history of the show – invigorating the crowd, getting everyone’s blood pumping and bringing them to their feet for a standing ovation.  A few more moments with Mya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey would have been fun, but honestly, No Host was needed.  The mellifluous voice of announcer Randy Thomas was all that was needed to transition from one award to another – if you hadn’t noticed, she’s been doing that for many years.

In the year that followed the #MeToo movement and #OscarsSoWhite, a light seems to have finally been shined on the underrepresentation of women and people of color in the motion picture industry.  Watching this year’s awards and seeing women and people of color winning awards in almost every category, you would think this year was the norm and the awards are representative of all the films in 2018, the they are not. 

Highlights of the show included the performances of the nominated songs – Bette Midler and Jennifer Hudson were standouts, but no moment in the entire show left the audience more breathless than the performance of “Shallow” by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.  First, the music started with an empty stage as Bradley and Gaga made their way to the stage together from their seats.  Next, in the silence, you could almost hear the conversation you imagined took place during the commercial break – Gaga whispering to Bradley “It’s just you and me….just look at me and everything will be okay.”  When Bradley started singing, there was almost a gasp from the crowd as if to say “wow, this is live, he really can sing.”  As the two gazed into each other’s eyes and ended the song cheek to cheek at the piano, this private moment we were watching in complete stillness was broken by the audience applause.  Somewhat grateful tha the camera did not cut to Bradley Cooper’s supermodel girlfriend, but we can’t help but think “is she seeing what we’re seeing?”  But to Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech, another highlight not only because of her passion and message of perseverance but because of her anticipated expression of adoration of Bradley.  If you saw any of the interviews she’s given this year, by comparison, she was far less effusive in her acceptance speech which seemed even more suspicious.

Regina King’s win for Best Supporting Actress was a highlight.  How long have you loved Regina King – since Jerry Maguire, right?  Her emotional acceptance was genuine and her expression of appreciation of her mother pretty much ruined things for all other winners – no one’s mother could possibly be satisfied with a “thank’s Mom” after Regina.

Spike Lee’s win for Best Adapted Screenplay for Blackkklansman was one of the night’s biggest moments.  Samuel Jackson picked up Spike like he was the size of a seven year old.  Truth be told, he’s not much bigger, but his message was powerful.  Embrace our history, the truth, and move forward.

Special guests introduced the Best Picture Nominees.  Some seemed a bit confusing.  Serena Williams introduced A Star is Born.  Barbra Streisand introduced Blackkklansman.  The interaction between Brooklynites Spike and Babs was intriguing.  Made you want to hang with them, may grab a coffee or a slice…does Babs eat pizza?

Biggest surprise of the night was Olivia Coleman’s upset over Glenn Close for Best Actress.  Her surprise was so genuine and her British self-deprecating humor was charming.  No wonder the Academy gives so many awards to Brits – they’re so much more humble than American, and witty.

Speaking of Americans, Rami Malek gave a heartfelt acceptance speech for his Best Actor win for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.  He shared that we all need to embrace who we are, and as the child of immigrants, he is standing on stage and winning an Academy Award.  Clearly he’s living the American dream.  Hopefully his message was not lost.

The final surprise of the night was the win for Green Book for Best Picture.  Though momentum was on its side, no one could be certain which film would win.

This blog could not be complete without discussing the fashions.  As good as this year was for film, it was even better for fashion.

The trends for the women were sparkeles, ruffles, tulle, metallic, pants, tuxedos, and pink!.  The sparkling best dresses:  Emilia Clarke (lilac sparkle), Amandla Stenberg, Michelle Yeoh, Amy Adams, and Brie Larson.  The sparkling pantsuits:  Awkwafina and Jennifer Lewis.  The best Tuxedos: Diane Warren, Amy Poehler, Allison Janney, and Jennifer Hudson’s performance tuxedo with the 50 foot jacket train. 

Best in Pink:  Angela Bassett, Helen Mirren, Gemma Chan, and Julia Roberts. 

Best in Ruffles:  Jennifer Hudson (in red), Constance Wu in  Saffron yellow reminiscent of Michelle Williams best Oscar look.

Not easy to choose the Best Dressed woman this year.  JLo too the sparkle to another level in a long sleeve mirror ball dress.  Julia Roberts made looking gorgeous at the Oscars seem easy.  Brie Larson brought an edgy sleek look this year with a high neck silver sheath with tousled blonde waves.  Angela Bassett was breathtaking a a pink structured gown with a giant bow on one shoulder reminiscent of Nicole Kidman’s best Oscar look (the big red bow).  These were all fabulous, but the best was an unlikely candidate with a surprising dress.  Gemma Chan’s Valentino hot pink ruffled tent dress was spectacular – an unlikely silhouette but on her tiny frame, the volume was refreshing.  This dress will be a trend setting this summer.

The worst-dressed woman were unfortunately abundant this year.  Big misses from Charlize Theron (a long sleeve long, square shoulder, gray body con long dress with strange darts at the bust – looked like a librarian from the future), Glenn Close (42 pounds of gold dress – should have traded it for 5 pounds of gold statue), Emma Stone (meh- great hair and makeup), Rachel Weiss (was that red vinyl?), Linda Cardellini (wanted to be noticed, she was, but looked like a Victoria’s Secret Valentine’s robe)….But the worst dressed was Kasey Musgraves.  Her awful dress clashed with her hair and makeup – she looked like Kim Kardashian in a Tinkerbell costume.  Ridiculous.

The Men this year were the best dressed ever.  They pushed the fashion envelope.  Trends were brocade tuxedos, velvet, plum/burgundy, lapel flowers, and gender bending.

The best were Ryan Seacrest(brocade), Adam Lambert (classic Tom Ford with dangling cuffs and tons of ear jewelry and an orchid lapel flower), Daniel Craig (classic), Trevor Noah (classic), Rami Malek (Euro slim), Michael Keaton (classic), Chadwick Boseman (love the way he always pushes fashion to the edge), and Mahershala Ali. 

A few men stood out pushing some looks that were truly out of the box.  Jason Momoa wore dusty rose velvet suit (with a matching scrunchy he wore at the after party).  Alfonso Cuaron in the color of the night – plum.  John Mulvany in a floral brocade tux jacket (like a play on a blackwatch plaid tux jacket, it’s a muted floral – this could trend). 

Henry Golding looked incredible in a Ralph Lauren custom Black Velvet tux with a white cotton pique bow tie and shirt.  There was someone who flew a little under the radar but may have been the trendsetter of the night.  Nicholas Hoult wore a Dior black wrap coat tux.  It wasn’t loud but it was different.  Nicholas Hoult and Henry Golding were Best Dressed.

Some of the men pushed the fashion to the brink of good taste.  Spike Lee like to stand out in a crowd – a purple tux with a blue shirt, a purple cap, purple glasses, a Prince necklace, and Michael Jordan gold sneakers is a good way to stand out in the crowd.

Billy Porter also wanted to stand out – a tuxedo dress was the best way to do that.  The ball gown was a bit much but the streamlined dress looked really good on him. 

Stephan James got it wrong.  The fit was great.  Velvet is great.  The odd red color and the giant red clip on tie made him look like a ring master at Barnum and Bailey.  Sadly, worst of the night.

Until next year – will there be a host?  Will Bradley and Gaga become Braga?  Will Glenn Close and Diane Warren ever win an Oscar?  Will Jennifer Lopez ever look older?  More reasons to watch…..