Oscar-palooza, Vol. 3

The 93rd Academy Awards were held Sunday night, and it was a relatively subdued affair, which may be appropriate given the circumstances – but it just wasn’t a whole lot of fun to watch. Like I always do, I watched the show while talking on the phone to my best friend/sister-in-law, who lives in Arizona, and we talked over a lot of it, which we don’t usually do. Everything seemed off-kilter somehow; some segments were drawn out, and others, like the In Memoriam, were too rushed (and don’t even get me started on the fact that Adam Schlesinger, a literal Oscar nominee for the That Thing You Do! theme song, WASN’T EVEN INCLUDED).

Regardless of the flaws in the telecast (and despite the record low ratings), it was a great year for movies – even if it wasn’t a great year for moviegoers.

The winners:

There was no one big winner, but Nomadland took home the most awards (three) of the night – Best Picture, Best Director for Chloe Zhao and, in one of the surprises of the evening, Best Actress for Frances McDormand. Five films took home two awards each – The Father (Best Actor – the biggest surprise of the night – and Best Adapted Screenplay), Mank (Best Cinematography and Best Production Design), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Best Costume Design and Best Hair & Makeup), Sound of Metal (Best Sound and Best Editing) and Soul (Best Score and Best Animated Feature). Daniel Kaluuya took home Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah and the delightful Yuh-Jung Youn won Best Supporting Actress for Minari. Promising Young Woman‘s writer/director Emerald Fennell won the Best Original Screenplay prize.

Now, about that Best Actor win – Anthony Hopkins, now the oldest person to win an acting Oscar, won for his performance in The Father, but he was not present to accept the award. Because he knew that Chadwick Boseman was expected to posthumously win for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (and because he’s 83 years old and we’re still in the grip of a global pandemic), Hopkins stayed home in Wales. Even producers banked on a Boseman win, saving the category for last so they could end on a heartwarming note. It was, to say the least, a letdown, but that doesn’t mean Hopkins didn’t deserve the award.

The fashion:

Some of the fashion trends of the evening – cut-outs, gold lame, giant sleeves – didn’t do much for me personally, but what do I know? I live in leggings and t-shirts.