My 2025 Oscars Recap

Although this year’s Oscars weren’t as dramatic as in past years (aka the 2022 Oscars when Will Smith punched Chris Rock), there were still many scandalous moments and breathtaking looks on the red carpet and during the show. In this article I will be telling you about the highlights of this year’s Oscars, some of the stunning looks from celebs, and my biased opinions.

Starting off strong with the most talented Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opening the show for us by singing renditions of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (1939), “Home From the Wiz” (1978) and the most popular song among theater kids, “Defying Gravity” from the “Wicked” soundtrack. I almost cried listening to Ariana Grande sing her rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” not just because of how much I love the song but because I know how sentimental it is to her. And watching them perform “Defying Gravity” was truly magical. I kid you not, I’m watching the performance as I write this. I just wish there was a category for best live performance because they stole the show.

I cannot forget our wonderful host, Conan O’Brien, who is by far my favorite host of this award season, aside from Kristen Bell at the SAG-AFTRA awards. But his perfect comedic timing really brought the Oscars together, and I couldn’t imagine anyone more fit for this position. 

Now, onto my top three favorite looks from the red carpet. One of my favorite underrated looks has to be Rachel Zegler’s. She was wearing a sheer Dior gown and from the moment I saw it, it captured my eye with all the glitter and shine. Next, Mikey Madison’s Dior dress and Archival Tiffany and Co. jewelry. Last but certainly not least, our best dressed on every red carpet, Coleman Domingo. One can never go wrong with a heated red Valentino look. Some honorable mentions: my favorite butterstick, Timothee Chalamet in a custom, all yellow Givenchy suit, Whoopi Goldberg in Christian Siriano,  Emilie Livingston and Jeff Goldblum in Prada. Lastly, the woman who always eats down at the Oscars, Lupita Nyong’o in Chanel.

Now, for the moment we’ve all been waiting for, my (all correct) opinions on the award ceremony.

Starting with the movie that won the most awards: “Anora,” for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress. I still have yet to watch Anora, but after the Academy Awards I’m determined to watch it and see what all the hype is about. 

Second movie to win the most awards is, “The Brutalist.” This movie won Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Actor. Now I have a bone to pick with that last category because, although I’m sure that Adrien Brody did a great job playing his role, his performance wasn’t exactly all his own, according to Vanity Fair. Editor of “The Brutalist,” Dávid Jancsó, used a Ukrainian AI software which augmented the voice of Adrien Brody to sound more realistic to the accent he was supposed to portray. Although AI can be resourceful for some things, I believe that if you’re winning an award for your acting, the performance should be 100% yours. Timothee Chalamet worked on playing Bob Dylan for “The Complete Unknown” for over five years, Sebastian Stan risked his career to play Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” and although he didn’t portray his voice, he managed to get his mannerisms down almost perfectly. Ralph Fiennes is one of the best-known actors in Hollywood and has been in many mainstream movies. These outstanding actors work so hard to get nominated just for their win to get snubbed by someone whose acting performance was enhanced with AI. Not only were people surprised by his win but also his exaggeratingly long speech that he cut the music off just to ramble on for.

Onto some of my other least favorite wins: “Emilia Perez.” I started the movie a couple of days ago but couldn’t get past fifteen minutes. Though I believe Zoe Saldaña is a great actress, I can’t say that I believe she deserved an Oscar for this award. She has so many other great movies that flew over The Academy’s head. Additionally, her answers to the backstage questions were also very ignorant, and I feel that she could have had better responses, especially because she’s talking to such a broad audience. Fun Fact the artist who wrote “El Mal”, Camille won Best Original Song and she also wrote “Le Festin” in Ratatouille. 

On a brighter note, I’m so happy “Wicked” won for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. You may or may not know this, but the set of “Wicked” was actually all built by hand and not just CGI; Shiz University, the spinning bookshelf, The Emerald City and the train they took there and the wizard’s moving mask were all really there on set. Even the nine million tulips in the opening scene were planted to create the most outstanding production design. Cynthia Erivo was also painted green for the movie and CGI was not used to edit her appearance as the tragically beautiful Elphaba. All of their costumes were so glamorous and well-made. My favorite had to be Glinda’s dress during the song “No One Mourns the Wicked.”

Lastly, another performance that blew me away was the James Bond tribute with Margaret Qualley dancing and Lisa( Lalisa Manobal ), Doja Cat and Raye ( Rachel Agatha Keen ) singing. It was absolutely mesmerizing, and I hope Jack Antonoff knows he has a competition now with the official Margaret Qualley fanclub.

Overall, this year’s Oscars were entertaining, as always. I cannot wait to see all the amazing movies that come out this year. All the film nerds know that the Academy Awards are actually year-round, because we’re always judging every movie we watch to see if it’s Oscar-worthy.