Another Oscars come and gone, and on the whole, I was pretty happy. It was lovely to see Everything Everywhere All at Once, my runaway favorite, take home award after award. While the ceremony itself was a bit blah, it was worth it to see the joyous wins and hear some lovely speeches.
Jimmy Kimmel was the host. I’m not sure how times he’s hosted now—at least three—but I thought he was fairly ho-hum. His biggest thing was repeated references to last year’s “slap,” checking in with nominees and guests to make sure no one was feeling too aggressive. I did smile when he brought out Jenny the Donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin (or at least a donkey.) The delight on Colin Farrell’s face was priceless.
It wasn’t much of a “spread the love” year when it came to the awards—of the ten Best Picture nominees, only half took home anything. Women Talking won Best Adapted Screenplay, while Avatar: The Way of Water took home Best Visual Effects and Top Gun: Maverick nabbed Best Sound. Other than Best Animated Feature (Pinocchio,) Best Documentary Feature (Navalny,) and the shorts, which have their own categories, only a few non-Best Picture nominees were awarded. RRR won Best Original Song after bringing the house down with their exuberant performance of “Naatu Naatu.” The Whale scored Best Leading Actor for Brendan Fraser and Best Makeup & Hairstyling, and Fraser gave a lovely acceptance speech. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Ruth E. Carter, who won Best Costume Design, became the first Black woman to have won two Oscars.
The rest of the awards were split between just two films. In addition to Best International Feature, which was expected, All Quiet on the Western Front, won Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. That left Everything Everywhere All at Once, which cleaned up. They took home Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis,) Best Leading Actress (Michelle Yeoh!!!), Best Editing, Best Director and Original Screenplay (Daniels Scheinert and Kwan,) and Best Picture.
I’m a little disappointed that some great films this year didn’t win anything, especially The Banshees of Inisherin. But I can’t complain at all about any of Everything Everywhere All at Once’s fantastic wins. The Daniels were thrilled, excited, and humbled every time they took the stage. As expected, Quan’s heartfelt, ecstatic speech had people in tears, including him (I also loved how excited presenters Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur were when they announced his name.) Yeoh was gorgeous, gracious, and fierce, and I love that Halle Berry, the first woman of color to win Best Leading Actress, was there to present her with the award (alongside Jessica Chastain.)
Ultimately, I ended the telecast feeling energized and uplifted, much as I did watching Everything Everywhere All at Once. This was a special night, and I was happy with how the evening came out.
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