On March 10, the biggest stars in Hollywood flooded into the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the biggest event of the year – the Academy Awards. There are a few boxes you can expect to be ticked during a classic Oscars evening: technical difficulties, extraordinary fashion, classic viral moments (I’m Just Ken seems to hold that top spot this year). But there were some differences between this year’s ceremony and past years. For one, each acting category forwent clips in favor of having a former category winner present each nominee. Revisiting a format last seen in 2009, this approach added more star power to the event, though I missed the performance snippets before announcing winners. Starting an hour earlier, the ceremony accommodated extra banter without the usual worry of overrunning. Overall, it was a lively ceremony filled with highs and lows.
I generally find myself among the minority who enjoy Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscar monologues, and my expectations were high for his fourth hosting stint. Unfortunately, this time, I found myself siding with the critics. Kimmel had his moments, notably celebrating union workers in the first ceremony post-Writers’ Guild and Screen Actors’ Guild strikes—a commendable gesture. Yet, many of his jokes missed the mark for me. He opted for predictable jabs: commenting on film lengths, lightly mocking nominee Robert De Niro’s dating preferences, and making a State of the Union response reference. His approach felt too safe, verging on dull, save for one particularly off-target joke aimed at Robert Downey Jr., hinting at the actor’s past with substance use. While Downey Jr. appeared unbothered, the joke seemed in poor taste, especially for such a significant occasion in his career. Overall, the monologue was passable, but I’m hopeful for fresh hosting talent next year—John Mulaney, perhaps? His Field of Dreams joke while presenting Best Sound outshone any of Kimmel’s attempts.
The evening’s presenting highs and lows extended beyond Kimmel. Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, nominees for Oppenheimer and Barbie, playfully sparred over their “Barbenheimer” rivalry in a stunt choreographers’ tribute. Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger, both one-time Batman adversaries, shared a comedic moment with Michael Keaton before announcing Best Visual Effects and Best Film Editing. And Al Pacino’s unconventional Best Picture reveal, bypassing the nominees to exclaim, “My eyes see Oppenheimer!” was unforgettable.
The musical performances stood out as a highlight, albeit with mixed moments. Becky G’s rendition of The Fire Inside from Flamin’ Hot was less memorable, largely because the song and movie haven’t caught widespread attention. In contrast, Billie Eilish delivered a stunning, understated performance of her winning song, What Was I Made For? from Barbie. The Osage Nation’s vibrant presentation of Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon captivated me, marking a high point of the night. Yet, the pinnacle was Ryan Gosling’s performance of I’m Just Ken from Barbie. Starting in the audience, moving to the stage, paying homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and concluding with Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen’s son) joining him, it was a true spectacle, perfectly capping the evening.
Now, on to the real excitement of the night – the winners. Two weeks ago, I finalized and published my Oscar predictions for some of the main categories, and I’m pleased to say that I was right – mostly. As I predicted, Oppenheimer took home most of the top prizes, with Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, and American Fiction pulling some of the other top trophies. However, where I went wrong was in my prediction for Best Actress. The race for the gold has been between Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone and Poor Things’ Emma Stone for most of the season, and I assumed the former would come on top as Gladstone would have been the first Native American winner in the category and only the third non-white winner of all time. However, by the time the category rolled around, I had my suspicions that Stone would pull ahead. Poor Things proved to be a top winner of the evening, already taking home three technical awards. Emma Stone was an absolute marvel in her role, and it’s a deserved win. However, it did slightly mar my almost flawless prediction streak.
There were some great moments from award winners this year. I got a kick out of Porchè Brinker, the 12-year-old girl who took the stage to accept the Best Documentary Short Oscar for The Last Repair Shop, which shows the lives of students whose musical instruments have been mended at a Los Angeles repair shop. Brinker was clearly thrilled to be representing herself and her fellow students, and it was adorable to see.
The truest MVP of the morning wasn’t any of the actors – at least, none of the human ones. The belle of the ball was Messi, the Border Collie star of Anatomy of a Fall. Messi has been everywhere this awards season, and I was beyond excited to see if he would make it to the final hurrah of the year. And he did! Messi had his own seat in the audience and his own massive bowtie. He was even shown clapping after Robert Downey Jr.’s win! It was silly and a ton of fun. I certainly hope Messi gets another chance to show off his great canine-acting skills in another production so we can see him back at the Oscars soon.
One of my favorite moments of the night came from filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, whose film The Zone of Interest took home two top trophies during the night. When he arrived on stage to accept the Oscar for Best International Feature, Glazer took the opportunity to connect his film to the ongoing genocide occurring in Gaza. “Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people,” he said. “Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?” It’s a statement that has already been massively misconstrued, but Glazer has refused to recant or clarify his words. The speech resonated deeply, aptly reflecting the film’s critical message about the peril of overlooking atrocities happening nearby.
The Academy Awards remain the pinnacle of my year, and this ceremony lived up to every expectation. Filled with a blend of cringe-worthy gaffes, uproarious humor and heart-stirring moments, it encapsulated the magic of Oscar night perfectly. I’m already looking forward to next year’s gala, ready to revel in the spectacle again!