Musings on 2021 Oscars – The Good, The Bad + the WTF

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It’s Oscars Sunday and I actually don’t feel as overwhelmed as I had been as year’s past as I actually remember Oscars is on tonight so I had time to prepare and set up my laptop downstairs instead of scrambling to live tweet, ahah. Now, I wish I had timed my laundry on time as I still had to pick up my load during commercials! Nothing like mundanity of real life to go with all the glitz and glamour! 😀

I have to say though that I quite like the more low-key ceremony with tables so people can social distance… it feels more relaxed, cozy and intimate. But unlike the Golden Globes, still no drinks, ha! I also like the fact that the song performances were shown before the actual telecast to cut time, and the fact that they were done outdoors are pretty cool as well. This is actually my favorite song nominated this year… written by the legendary Diane Warren!

 

I love Regina King doing the opening monologue wearing one of my favorite Oscar dresses of the night! I expected Minneapolis would got a mention… wish it were for another reason though. In any case, if you missed it, here’s the video: 

THE GOOD

First Oscar went to a woman, yay!!

Incredible that Emerald Fennell won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for her feature directorial debut Promising Young Woman –  similar to Diablo Cody who won for JUNO in 2008. But she also directed AND produced the film, all while she was pregnant, wow!!

emerald-fennell

Two more women won within the first half hour, both for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom!!

marainey
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020): Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. Cr. David Lee / Netflix

Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson won for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling AND Ann Roth won for Best Achievement in Costume Design!

I’m still kicking myself that I haven’t seen MINARI, yet! But Yuh-Jung Youn didn’t just win for her performance in Minari, but for having the most adorable Oscar speech of the night! Her expression when her name was called is priceless!!

Chloe Zhao is having a moment… the woman is such a force that I know this is just the beginning for her!!

The phenomenally talented Trent Reznor + Atticus Ross are double nominees tonight for MANK and SOUL. I’ve only seen the latter and I absolutely LOVE the score for SOUL, so yeah!!

Nomadland and Chloé Zhao making all kinds of history tonight just made my heart soar!!! One of the only two Best Picture nominees I saw on the big screen before it was actually released. Thanks to Twin Cities Film Fest!!

[Added 4/26] – Since I posted it right after the ceremony ended. I went to bed hoping I’d see a video of Sir Anthony Hopkins‘ Oscar speech. Well here it is… the Welsh thespian is as gracious as ever, even paying tribute to fellow nominee Chadwick Boseman who everyone thought would’ve won this year.

THE BAD

  • What’s with Brad Pitt not helping Yuh-Jung Youn from her podium when the 73 year-old woman clearly could use some help… and even if she didn’t, it would’ve been the chivalrous thing to do.
  • I’m not crazy with the fact that they didn’t show clips of the nominees, only a few categories including Best Picture were shown clips.
  • I didn’t care for the trivia bit, overall it just felt awkward and they could’ve given more time to other things we actually care about.
  • They’re rushing through everything in the final hour… especially during what’s supposed to be a solemn IN MEMORIAM sequence. It’s egregious to rush THAT sequence, but it’s especially terrible given how many people we lost in 2020.
  • What’s with the BEST PICTURE being presented before the Best Actor + Actress announcement?? The Best Picture has always been the last award of the night, that is tradition. I mean WHY?? It doesn’t exactly save time to change the order and it just didn’t feel right. I feel like they also didn’t allow the winning team, in this case NOMADLAND, to bask in this achievement somehow.

THE WTF

Now, this category isn’t automatically bad… they’re just completely out of left field!

Ok so I haven’t got around to seeing Judas and the Black Messiah but happy for the talented Daniel Kaluuya. He was rambling quite a bit in his speech but hey, that made for one of the funniest moments of the night!

Well, expect a new Glenn Close meme coming on Monday, folks!! I guess this is one of the fun things that came out of the whole trivia bit.

Though I was flabbergasted that I did not hear Chadwick Boseman‘s name called in the Best Actor category who deserved the post-humous nomination NOT because he’s gone but because he gave an outstanding, heart-wrenching performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom… but no, I’m not going to complain that Anthony Hopkins won (or worse, getting mad at the actor for winning like some people on Twitter – SMH) I was in awe of his performance depicting a man suffering from dementia in The Father… and the fact that he wasn’t even campaigning at all during award season just showed what a gracious person he is. He didn’t even appoint anyone to accept the award on his behalf!

Last but not least…

Now, I don’t think anyone saw it coming that Frances McDormand would win Best Actress!! I mean, despite my love for Nomadland, I didn’t think Frances’ performance was out of this world the way Viola Davis and Carey Mulligan did in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Promising Young Woman, respectively.

Ok I’m hoping Marvel is listening!!

In conclusion…

Heh, what a night! Despite some historic wins that made me happy, the ceremony itself is bonkers!! There are just too many weird things… some of the speeches went on way too long (wish someone cut off the last bit of Kaluuya’s speech), and some barely got enough time in. Again, the announcement weird switcheroos made no sense at all… and what’s with the abrupt end after they realized Anthony Hopkins weren’t present?? At the very least they could’ve shown a clip of his performance?? Something??

Some were saying that whoever directed the event must have been convinced Chadwick Boseman would win Best Actor, and that’s why they re-arranged so that his category is last. Well if that is the case, that’s just a terrible decision that proves to be a disservice to everyone.

Oh, speaking of my predictions I posted on Saturday, I only got 14/23 categories I predicted correctly. That’s actually pretty good considering I haven’t seen SO many and mostly these are based on gut instincts, ahah.

So did you watch the Oscars? Well, what did YOU think?

6 thoughts on “Musings on 2021 Oscars – The Good, The Bad + the WTF”

  1. I didn’t watch the Oscars at all but… what the fuck was that? You always end with Best Picture.

    That was awful and anti-climatic.

    And for the record, Diane Warren isn’t a legend but an overrated songwriter who writes some of the worst shit in history. Some of which is just depressing and I listen to the Cure, Joy Division, and some of the most miserable music out there. If you listen carefully to the song “Look Away” performed by Chicago. Man, those were some of the worst lyrics I had ever heard and the sentiment of it is pathetic.

    Sorry, I had to rant. I just can’t stand her. I’m getting bad flashbacks of that horrendous Oscar ceremony that had Rob Lowe doing a duet with Snow White.

    Reply

    1. Yeah, the Best Picture definitely should have always be the last award!! I heard it’s because they thought Chadwick would win so they rearranged it so it would be the final thing to have his wife give the speech, but obviously whoever directed the event didn’t know Hopkins would win, so it kinda backfired. It was so awkward and anti-climactic, probably one of the worst endings ever for Oscar and their track record is terrible, LOL!

      Hmmmm, I don’t know much about Diane Warren but I guess I quite like her ballads, esp this one. I also like Laura Pausini’s voice so the song worked for me. Boy I haven’t listened to “Look Away” in decades! I had no idea Warren even wrote that, I thought the band Chicago wrote their own songs.

      Oy, thank goodness I missed the ceremony where Rob Lowe doing a duet with Snow White!! Yikes!

      Reply
  2. Ted Saydalavong

    As usual, I never watch the Oscars but always appreciate your overview of the program. To be honest, I didn’t realized it’s on last night until I got on Twitter and seeing tweets about it. Nice to see some historic wins and hope to see more diversity in the upcoming years.

    Reply

    1. Well as you said Ted, who knows how long this ‘diversity + inclusion’ thing would last in Hollywood. It’s ‘on trend’ right now so lots of investment there but aside from that, who knows.

      Reply

  3. Pingback: The Alliance Lately: Issue No. 28 – The Minnesota Film Critics Alliance

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