First I assumed it was a joke. Then I felt a brief panic when it was clear it wasn't. And then, once the guest host finished his patter (albeit, shook) I watched Best Documentary be won by Summer of Soul and I forgot about it.
Yeah, I really did. The incident that everyone banged on about when they woke hours later? It left my head. And for the record, no, I don't condone violence and I think you can joke about anything as long as it's funny (the second part of that sentence being important). But after the initial unpleasantness, I just wanted to see the rest of the awards.
Predictably, there were A LOT OF OPINIONS when I woke at 11am. I accepted them from those who'd watched it live like me. But I held no truck for anyone waking after a good night's sleep and sharing their outrage before they'd had breakfast. Because they missed so much good stuff. There were many lovely moments that didn't get their deserved coverage in the immediate aftermath of the 94th Academy Awards. So let's do something about that, shall we.
Kenneth Branagh Won An Oscar
I'll be clear from the start. I've loved this man since I was a teen. He made Shakespeare accessible and signposted me towards my ideal lover - someone who can chat Hamlet over wine. That'll form the basis of my Tinder profile should I ever feel the need. After being nominated in all sorts of categories for all sorts of films, he finally won for Best Original Screenplay and I whooped from my bed. Supremely satisfying and long overdue.
Sweet Gesture at the Handover
Last year's best supporting actress, Youn Yuh-jung was there to present Best Supporting Actor, as is standard. She commented that she hoped she'd pronounce the names of the nominees correctly, before opening the card. Then, when it came to the winner, she only went and signed his name! This, for those unclear, was useful as Troy Kotsur is deaf, and only the second deaf actor to win an Academy Award. Look, it's not really good enough until the whole thing is signed throughout, obvs. But as a sweet gesture from one actor to another, it was pretty cool.
Politics Are Never Far Away
The big question beforehand was whether Ukraine would be mentioned during the show. There was even a discussion on Sky News about the likelihood of Zelenskyy being included in the ceremony. In the end, it was down to a few individual references from award winners, as well as a minute's silence as we were encouraged to reflect. But that wasn't where politics ended. The hosts Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer enthusiastically told us it was going to be a gay night (just as Florida has passed the Don't Say Gay legislation) and Jessica Chastain made an impassioned plea for love and acceptance for the LGBT community. I like it when people are given a platform and they use it positively.
Queen Bey's Oscars
Venus Williams and Serena Williams opened the show, to introduce Beyoncé, who then extra-opened the show with a performance of Be Alive from King Richard. With a court full of backing singers and dancers dressed as tennis balls, this was the most magnificent thing I had ever watched in bed at 2am on a school night. It didn't win Best Song but that didn't matter because it won the Internet. (Until nonsense took over. Watch this instead of that.)
There's a Place For Us
It's fab when allies like Jessica Chastain use their platform for good. But it's even better when LGBTQIA+ people get the platform themselves. Ariana DeBose won Best Supporting Actor for her role as Anita in West Side Story, and throughly deserved it. With the original Anita, Rita Moreno, watching from the audience, she talked about being an openly queer woman of colour and finding her strength in life through art. It was a lovely moment.
A Decidedly Perky In Memoriam
Sky were having technical difficulties so the In Memoriam feature burst onto my screen mid-flow after a brief moment's outage. And burst it did. Forget your solemn notes and your sepia tones. This was upbeat! As the pictures of the recently dead scrolled across the screen, a gospel choir gave it large out front. Every so often the music would quiet and someone would speak about a name on the screen. Bill Murray was talking about Ivan Reitman when Sky rejoined the programme. A moment later, the magnificent Jamie Lee Curtis eulogised the equally magnificent Betty White whilst holding a puppy. It was batshit and glorious. Later, on Twitter, it seemed the change in tone had split opinion. For me, when I die, I'd be well happy with that level of demented joy.
2 Out of 94 Ain't Bad Is Piss Poor
I'd been a bit cold towards Jane Campion because of some silly things she's said recently. But blimey, it's still such a crazily rare achievement that women are nominated, let alone win Best Director Oscars, that it still filled me with pride that she did. She's now the second woman in ninety-four years to win, which is ridiculous. Especially as everyone knows the real best director working today is Greta Gerwig. Isn't the world a mess of systemic barriers and injustice? We should probably do something about that at some point.
Best Picture is CODA!
I'm still to see CODA but it won't be long before I do. What I did take from this win, however, is that signing should happen for every major broadcast of anything. It's more of that systemic inequality, innit. If the Oscars don't make this as standard after this year, they're proper silly billies. Genuinely, it's the most basic of lessons they can take forward. (Along with ditching the easy-access cabaret tables, and seating everyone in the safety of theatre rows once more.) It's always a thrill to see a version of yourself being brilliant and lauded. CODA looks fab and I'm happy it won. But I'm also happy that for deaf kids, there's a bit more mainstream representation.
Haven't I banged on for ages? This is what happens when people ignore the cool stuff and focus on a moment of madness. I'm going to wrap it up now. But it's a shame I've not had a chance to mention Lady Gaga and Liza Minelli being the best onstage duo ever. Or Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall passing on Kim Kardashian's advice to Judi Dench after she didn't win Best Supporting Actress. Work harder. Or how fab it was to see Elliot Page talk about his pre-transition film, Juno. Or seeing classic film cast reunions. Or James Acaster being front and centre of the ten second clip they showed of Cinderella. Or Amy Schumer's joke when she came back after 'the incident' and asked if she's missed something. It was a great night. Possibly not for approximately three people in the building, but for everyone else there was so much to enjoy. Let's remember the enjoyable stuff too.
Have a lovely week, folks.
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