Is it just us or did Sunday's Oscars show fly by for once? Like many, we grew up watching the Academy Awards on TV as a kid, buying into the the pop culture hoopla surrounding the celebration of exemplary filmmaking (and fierce fashion critique). We've never enjoyed the aggrandization of rich and famous people just doing their jobs, but it comes with the territory.
But on Sunday's 3-hour telecast, there was a sense of humility that we haven't seen in some time, and it was over before we knew it. We could've watched more.
Was it COVID? The slap? The fact that our world feels like it's on the brink of impending doom? We actually got teary during a couple of the speeches, especially Ke Huy Quan's, which was the kind of joyful full circle moment that makes Hollywood the place of dreams, still.


Jimmy Kimmel did a fine job as host, maintaining the delicate balance between reverence for and ribbing of the diamond encrusted movie stars in the audience. His slow-drip of Will Smith jokes throughout the show was, we gotta say it, more clever than Chris Rock's whole Netflix set (though we did enjoy that too).
We purposely avoided Twitter during the Oscars. Dissecting every little upset, slight between rivals, side-boob slip, Botox-overdo, etc. has grown tiresome. Angela Bassett probably did deserve to win Best Supporting Actress and she probably should've been more gracious with a least a couple fake claps (both can be true).  Jamie Lee Curtis was wonderful in her role and her energy on this awards circuit has been the best. Both women keep it real and deserve props for their full bodies of work.


Speaking of concerts-- David Byrne, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and winners Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava turned in varied performances, and we loved the simplicity of Lenny Kravitz at a piano for the In Memorium segment. Of course, the Oscars left a lot of important people out on the telecast as they always do, but this year the omissions might have been particularly egregious. See them all HERE.
Other than the Best Supporting Actress controversy, pretty much everyone agrees the Academy mostly got it right this year. It was big well-deserved night for the AAPI community, for women, and for truly independent, original movie-making. In a landscape dominated by re-hashed stories and superhero onslaught, Everything Everywhere All at Once was a weird, emotional and mind-bending shower of flavors, seeds and ideas that will hopefully inspire more of the same in the future.



Photo above courtesy A Frame/Oscars.org. (See more images including behind the scenes shots at  aframe.oscars.org/news/post/gallery-inside-the-95th-oscars-exclusive).

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The 2023 Oscars Winners List
Best Picture
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser (The Whale) 
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Supporting Actress
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Animated Film
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Best Director
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Women Talking - Sarah Polley
Best Original Screenplay
Everything Everywhere All at Once - Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Best Cinematography
All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Film Editing
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Original Score
All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Original Song
"Naatu Naatu" from RRR (Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose)
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: The Way of Water
Best Sound
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Costume Design
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
The Whale
Best Production Design
All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Documentary Feature
Navalny
Best Documentary Short Subject
The Elephant Whisperers
Best Animated Short
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
Best Live-Action Short
An Irish Goodbye
Best International Film
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
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