We expected the Oscars to pack more of a punch, but not so much…
Posted at 1:01 a.m.
After a dramatic drop in its ratings – especially last year – the 94and Oscars ceremony seemed to play its all out, Sunday, on the airwaves of ABC (CTV in Canada). It was an evening that smelt a bit of despair. The “now or never”. The “make or break”.
The Academy has decided to put all the gum into it, live from the Kodak Theatre, inviting stars from all walks of life to present prizes and embracing everything that cinema has to offer, from the most cutting-edge to the most popular. While managing some controversies…
The one that will be talked about the most over the next few days – too violent to be arranged with the views guy – forced the broadcaster to long mute actor Will Smith’s wrathful retort to comedian Chris Rock’s joke. on the hairstyle of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
“I can’t wait to see you in GI Jane 2,” Rock said before presenting an award—unrelated to the Smith couple—referring to the 1997 film starring Demi Moore (and her shaved coco). Will Smith obviously didn’t appreciate the valve. He got up from his seat, walked on stage and punched Chris Rock in the face who, while hosting 88and Oscar gala, also poked fun at the couple’s decision to boycott the ceremony.
Jada Pinkett Smith reportedly suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. “Keep my wife’s name out of your filthy mouth,” read Will Smith’s lips. “I didn’t think I was going to take part in the most unforgettable of Oscar galas,” said Sean Combs, alias P. Diddy, before celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Godfatherand offering to play mediator at the Oscars party.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Will Smith said tearfully as he picked up his Best Actor Oscar for his role as the father of sisters Venus and Serena Williams. King Richard. “In this job, we are taught that we have to take the low blows. Even when people are disrespecting us and saying crazy things about us, we have to smile and pretend that everything is okay. »
“I want to apologize to the Academy and to the other finalists,” Smith said. Art imitates life. I look like a crazy father like Richard Williams! »
Indeed, he looked crazy. This did not prevent him from being hailed as a hero in the hall of the Kodak Theater, when he had just committed assault live on television.
And long live the trivialization of toxic masculinity! The real one, not the one played on screen by the best actor finalist this year (Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog). They are crazy, these Americans…
The evening had started off with a bang around King Richardwith sisters Serena and Venus Williams featuring Beyoncé Knowles, who sang be alivea piece taken from the film, from the neighborhood of Compton, in Los Angeles, where the tennis champions grew up and where this complacent feature film on their father, produced in particular by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, is camped.
Beyoncé, imperial as always, was accompanied by a brass section and dancers dressed in “tennis ball” yellow. It was as if the Super Bowl halftime show had been on as soon as the game kicked off. And that a controversial game had furnished all the conversations until the final whistle…
“After years without films on women, we finally had the chance to have a film on… the father of the Williams sisters! said Amy Schumer, very comedic, during the stand-up number that followed Beyoncé’s performance, along with her two co-hosts, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes.
“I was backstage taking off my Spider-Man costume. Did I miss something? “said Amy Shumer, shortly after the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock. The comedian, when she then found herself alone in the animation, was just enough squeaky (much more than Chris Rock…), in the tradition of Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes. She spoke in particular about the environmental commitment of Leonardo DiCaprio, star of Don’t Look Up!, and his reputation for serially dating women in their twenties: “He wants to bequeath a greener planet… for his girlfriends. »
The number of the single Regina Hall looking for a lover was also rather comical, even if it will undoubtedly be found that if the roles were reversed, we would speak of objectification of the body. Now, the roles are not reversed. On the other hand, we would have done without the too long guided tour of Wanda Sykes at the Oscars museum. Even if the animators, in general, left the light to the presenters and the winners.
The gala, if it is still too long at more than 3 h 30 min, was fairly well conducted, the thanks for the most part inspired… and short (we take notes in Quebec). Except for French producers of CODAwinner of the Oscar for best film – he did not deserve so much – who, at the very end of the ceremony, must have believed that they were at the Césars so much they were scattered.
Among the most moving speeches were those at the start of the evening by Oscar winner for best actress in a supporting role, Ariana DeBose, the Anita of West Side Storywhich obviously did not fail to highlight the award given to Rita Moreno for the same role in 1962.
“I am a Latino, queer woman of color who has found her strength in life through art,” she said. That’s what we celebrate here. So if you’ve ever doubted your identity, if you find yourself living in a gray area, I promise you there’s a place for us! »
“It’s our moment”, for his part declared Troy Kotsur, Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for CODA, who delivered his thanks in sign language. The screenwriter and filmmaker of CODASian Heder, was accompanied on stage by a sign language interpreter.
This gala was definitely placed under the sign of diversity, as John Leguizamo pointed out, recalling that the model of the famous golden statuette was a Mexican actor, Emilio Fernandez.
The musical numbers, less spectacular than Beyoncé’s outdoor staging, were sober and quite successful, with a special mention to Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas for the latest James Bond theme song, No Time To Die. That said, none of the songs in the running will make history…
Organizers have made a special, overt (and desperate?) effort to attract younger audiences thanks to presenters such as singer Shawn Mendes and South Korean boy band BTS. The only possible interpretation: the young people are no longer at the post.
Last year, the gala held only ten million viewers – including only two million listeners aged between 18 and 49 – while the Oscars were presented at Union Station in Los Angeles without an emcee. The gala’s ratings were nearly 40 million 10 years ago (with 11 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49).
Another controversy, at least for the most cinephiles, was the absence live from the presentation of eight awards, four of which were for Dunes, by Denis Villeneuve, awarded shortly before the televised ceremony. The average viewer will have seen nothing but fire. The acknowledgments of the winners were edited and integrated into the evening in an almost imperceptible way.
Denis Villeneuve was not a finalist for the Oscar for best director, but he was thanked by all his collaborators. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart”, said in French the editor of Dunes (and all of Villeneuve’s recent films), Joe Walker, as well as one of the Oscar winners for Best Sound. “Denis is a master,” said Academy Award winner for best cinematography, Greig Fraser. “Thank you, Denis, for allowing us to dream,” said Patrice Vermette, who looked up at the sky as he thanked his friend, the late Jean-Marc Vallée.
The Oscars highlighted the birthdays of James Bond (60), The Godfather (50 years), pulp Fiction (28 years old ?), Juno (15 years old) or White Men Can’t Jump (25 years). All the excuses are good to play the string of nostalgia and bring together actors who have not rubbed shoulders for a while.
“Long live Ukraine! “, declared Francis Ford Coppola while going to greet the public on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Godfather. Actress Mila Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, spoke in cryptic terms about the conflict, and a moment of silence was observed for the victims of the conflict. But we will have ultimately less mentioned the war in Ukraine than the conflict between Will Smith and Chris Rock…