Whoa. I have to say, I was really surprised to see that this year’s Oscars was a lot less mean-spirited and politically-charged than in recent years. It was a refreshing change and hopefully one that will stick. Although it began with an odd choice with Janelle Monae serenading Tom Hanks with “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” in reference to his movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Fortunately, that transitioned into a show-stopping number that celebrated this year’s nominated films. Then the hostless award show brought out two former hosts from Oscars past: Steve Martin and Chris Rock, who then proceeded to act like hosts poking fun at this year’s nominees.
Highlights of the night included MayaRudolph and Kristen Wiig’s presenting the awards for production design showing off their “acting” skills, Idina Menzel singing “Into the Unknown” from Frozen 2 with the all of the other Elsas of the world, Chrissy Metz singing “I’m Standing with You” from Breakthrough, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Will Farrell confusing the role of a cinematographer, Cynthia Erivo singing “Stand Up” from Harriet and a surprising lack of self-important celebrities ranting about climate change.
Negatives for night included a performance by Eminem. (With all of the pop/rock music songs that have been used for movies, why did they decide to pick one from Eminem?) Just when I thought the night was void of weird, bizarre speeches, Joaquin Phoenix (who won for best actor) didn’t let me down. Even Jane Fonda kept it classy.
And the Winner is…
Parasite was the big winner of the night not only winning the award for Best International Foreign Film, but also Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. Here is who else won tonight:

Best Picture
Parasite
Best Director
Bong Joon Ho / Parasite
Best Actress
in a Leading Role
Renee Zellweger / Judy
Best Actor
in a Leading Role
Joaquin Phoenix / Joker
Best Actress
in a Supporting Role
Laura Dern / Marriage Story
Best Actor
in a Supporting Role
Brad Pitt / Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins / 1917
Best Original Screenplay
Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won / Parasite
Best Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi / Jojo Rabbit
Best International
Feature Film
Parasite (South Korea)
Best Documentary
Feature Film
American Factory
Best Animated
Feature Film
Toy Story 4
Best Live-Action Short Film
The Neighbor’s Window
Best Documentary Short Subject
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Best Animated Short Film
Hair Love
Best Costume Design
Little Women
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Best Production Design
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Visual Effects
1917
Best Original Song
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” / Rocketman
Best Original Score
Joker
Best Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Best Sound Mixing
1917
Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
(Main Image: ABC)
Leave a Reply