Presenting the Oscars this year involved a higher-than-usual degree of difficulty, coming less than two months after Southern California’s devastating wildfires and amid a time of political chaos triggered by the Trump administration, coupled with the additional burden of awkward controversy surrounding a major nominee, “Emilia Pérez.”
Taking that disclaimer into account, the 97th Academy Awards largely mastered the delicate mechanics of that juggling act, acknowledging weightier matters — such as bringing out Los Angeles firefighters for an extended ovation — while seeking to provide a sense of playfulness, even silliness, courtesy of host Conan O’Brien.
The politics wasn’t oppressive, yet nor were issues outside the Dolby Theatre ignored, from Daryl Hannah saying “Slava Ukraine” in presenting an award to Zoe Saldaña noting that she is “a proud child of immigrant parents” at a time when immigration policy remains a point of considerable conflict. Plus, best documentary went to “No Other Land,” the collaboration of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers about conditions in the West Bank and the plight of Palestinians.
O’Brien saved what might have been the night’s most pointed line till the final portion of the show, citing “Anora’s” wins before wryly deadpanning, “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian” — a not-so-veiled jab at President Donald Trump — eliciting “oohs” from the crowd.
Prior to the show, O’Brien and the producers acknowledged that they faced a tricky balancing act in terms of tone. The show certainly accomplished that during its opening, following a cinematic tribute to L.A. with a rousing performance by “Wicked” duo Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande of “Defying Gravity,” “Home” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which easily could have been a show-stopping finale.
Indeed, the main problem was that the telecast peaked too early, as O’Brien rifled through the Best Picture nominees with a joke for each — including one about Karla Sofía Gascón and her offensive tweets — before segueing to a heartfelt defense of the show going on despite the tragedy that had beset the Los Angeles area.
“In moments such as this, any awards show can seem self-indulgent and superfluous,” O’Brien said, while noting the unifying power of film “even in the face of terrible wildfires and divisive politics.” The former late night host followed that up with some of his trademark goofiness, letting a bit of the air out of the moment and serving notice that the goal, ultimately, was to have fun, after conspicuously giving the room permission to do so.
Gil Cates, the late producer of many Oscar telecasts, often spoke about what he called “the award show gods” smiling on the producers by delivering memorable moments they hadn’t planned, and happily, there were several of those. The best included Saldaña shouting “Mommy!” as she took the stage to accept her award, Paul Tazewell (“Wicked”) becoming the first Black man to win for costume design and Kieran Culkin reminding his wife that she had promised him a fourth child if he won an Oscar, picking up where he left off with his Emmy win for “Succession.”
Even Mick Jagger turned out to be an unexpectedly amusing presenter, with the 81-year-old rock legend cheerfully boasting that he got the gig because he’s younger than 83-year-old Bob Dylan.
Not everything worked — what else is new? — such as an opening bit with a casually dressed Adam Sandler, and lengthy multi-performer introductions to the nominated costume designers and cinematographers that dragged on a bit. A splashy musical tribute to the James Bond franchise, while well timed given the producers’ creative handover to Amazon, also felt too much like a Las Vegas revue.
O’Brien promised to run a tight ship, even threatening to have John Lithgow stare down those who spoke too long, but the Oscars have a way of flummoxing the best of intentions on that front. Despite the questionable decision to dispense with best-song performances, the show clocked in at three hours and 45 minutes, spilling more than 10 minutes past the generous window allotted by ABC.
The unknowns surrounding the death of Gene Hackman provided another hurdle, one the Academy dealt with by having Morgan Freeman provide a brief tribute to him at the outset of the In Memoriam segment, one already crammed with plenty of big names. A boisterous celebration of the late Quincy Jones also came too late in the festivities, with only the four top awards to come.
The awards themselves helped in some respects, spreading the wealth (at least before “Anora” took over) and recognizing numerous first-time winners, even if most of the actors — except perhaps Best Actress winner Mikey Madison — had plenty of acceptance-speech practice throughout awards season. That included Adrien Brody, who somewhat boorishly filibustered past his playoff music before finally making the most of his time with his plea about antisemitism and not to “let hate go unchecked.”
“Anora” director Sean Baker used his third win to issue a “battle cry” to support theatrical distribution and independent film, which seemed particularly notable not only in the current streaming environment but a year where box office hits had a relatively muted presence during the show.
There have surely been better Oscar telecasts, but also plenty of worse ones. And given the handicaps the 97th edition faced, that’s no small feat.
