On Sunday night, the Oscars had its 90th show since beginning in 1929. The evening loomed under a tidal wave of sexual assault allegations happening in Hollywood over the past year, with Jimmy Kimmel, host, not shying away from the topic or Harvey Weinstein’s name.
The Oscars, which fell flat, according to some, after the memorably hilarious mix-up with the Best Picture award last year, had many good moments throughout the night. We’re summing up the best of the Oscars 2018 right here.
Helen Mirren on a Jet Ski
Early in the night, Kimmel brought out a stopwatch and announced that he would be timing all of the acceptance speeches to see whose was shortest. The person with the shortest speech would win a jet ski, which Helen Mirren presented Jeopardy-style. At the end of the night, the costume designer for “Phantom Thread” won with a remarkably short speech. Allison Janney could have won if she’d stopped after her opening line after winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role: “I did it all by myself,” but continued on to thank her cast and family.
Frances McDormand Invites the Female Nominees to Stand
Photo courtesy of ABC
The evening was chalk-full of girl-power moments with female presenters pointing out the limited number of female nominees. Emma Stone pulled a Natalie Portman and introduced the nominees for Best Director as four male directors “and Greta Gerwig.” It was Frances McDormand’s acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” though, that took the cake. The highlight of her speech was when she asked every female nominee to stand with her, which included faces such as Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, Octavia Spencer, and, of course, Meryl Streep.
Rachel Shenton Signed Her Speech
The British actress, Rachel Shenton, signed her acceptance speech for Best Live Action Short for “The Silent Child,” bringing awareness to the fact that millions of children live their lives in silence and face communication barriers every day.
Jennifer was Jennifer
Photo courtesy of E!
Jennifer Lawrence and Jodie Foster replaced Casey Affleck as the presenter for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Affleck had withdrawn from his presenting duties under the scrutiny of two already-settled sexual harassment lawsuits. Traditionally, the winner for Best Actor or Best Actress the previous year present the categories of the opposite sex the following year. Behind the scenes, though, Jennifer was just being, well, Jennifer, as a photo surfaced of her hitching up her gold-sequined Dior dress and climbing over seats with a glass of wine in her hand.
Kumail Nanjiani on Representation
Kumail Nanjiani, co-writer and leading actor in “The Big Sick,” and Lupita Nyong’o brought attention to those threatened by the end of DACA while presenting the Oscar for Best Production Design, noting that they are immigrants, too — Nanjiani is from Pakistan and Nyong’o is from Kenya. “To all the Dreamers out there, we stand with you,” Nanjiani said. Later in the evening, during a montage of celebrities speaking about representation in film, Nanjiani wonderfully noted, “Straight white dudes can watch movies starring me and relate to that. It’s not that hard. I’ve done it my whole life.”
The Music Performances
Hands down, all the music performances were well-done this year: “Remember Me” from the animated film “Coco,” and Sufjan Stevens performed “Mystery of Love” from the “Call Me By Your Name” soundtrack.
The most moving performance, however, belongs to Common and Andra Day’s “Stand Up for Something” from the film “Marshall.” While the two performed the song, with Common opening with a rap aimed at Fox News, Trump, and the NRA, behind the performers stood ten activists under spotlights. The activists, which Common and Day personally reached out to, included people from such movements as Me Too, Black Lives Matter, Planned Parenthood, Standing Rock Youth Council, and more.
Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Haddish Present
Photo courtesy of Vulture
The best moment of the night, however, goes to Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Haddish as they hilariously presented the animated and live action short films awards. The two walked onto the stage in their gowns, heels in hand, and UGGs on their feet. They joked about their iconic bathroom scenes and the #OscarsSoWhite scandal of last year, with Haddish saying, “But when we came out here together, we know some of you were thinking, ‘Are the Oscars too black now?’” Rudolph continued, saying, “We just wanna say, don’t worry. There are so many more white people to come today.” The duo has sent the Internet into a craze as people nominate them to host the 91st Oscars next year.