The Oscars. The most elite film awards in Hollywood. The best of the best are nominated and many people in the business go an entire career without one (poor Leo). To be nominated for an Oscar in and of itself is an incredible honor, let alone win one. The Oscars are always a star-studded event with gorgeous dresses, gorgeous people, and little golden men for the year’s best movies. But, if you’re like me, you have only seen a couple of the nominated movies, have never heard of some of them, and can’t pronounce the names of most of the nominees that are outside of the best leading/supporting actor/actress. So, why do we continue to watch the Oscars if not for the awards? Those amazing Oscar moments. From funny, to gasp-worthy, to heartwarming we love a good Oscar moment. So here are some of the highlights from Sunday’s Academy Awards.
1. J. Law fell. Again.
Photo Credit: US Weekly
Poor Jennifer Lawrence. Her first nomination she wins Best Actress in a Leading Role and all anyone remembers is her falling on the steps to accept it as if any of us could have walked up those stair in that gorgeous (but huge) Christian Dior gown as excited as she was and not fell on our faces. So, last night everyone was waiting for her to trip again, and being Jennifer Lawrence, she did not disappoint. It didn’t take long either; walking in on the red carpet, J.Law had an unfortunate tousle with a traffic cone and fell. Of course she had a good sense of humor about it. She laughed, got up, and checked the ensemble to make sure everything was still intact. Shout out to Jen for humanizing nominees and doing what I KNOW I would do were I in the same position.
2. Jonah Hill’s Date
Photo Credit: Getty Images
I love Jonah Hill. He’s funny but he’s also super sweet. I just wanted him to get the Oscar so bad even though there were other guys in the category that deserved it. He’s just such a sweetie. If you need proof, check out who he brought to the Academy Awards. His mom (looking fabulous by the way). I mean COME ON. They say you can tell what kind of guy a man is by how he treats his mother — does that mean he’ll take me to the Oscars too?! Also, shout out to the pair of them for totally interview bombing Bradley Cooper.
3. Ellen says what we’re all wondering
Photo Credit: Kevin White/Getty Images
Every year when the actors acknowledge each other on stage and act surprised and humbled, I wonder, how bad do they want to stick out their tongues and say “neener boo”? Ellen laid it all on the table and acknowledged the fact that each nominee was extremely competitive and they all wanted to win and beat the other nominees regardless of what they said on stage. “Who are we kidding? It’s the Hunger Games. I mean, there are cameras everywhere, you’re starving, Jennifer Lawrence won last year.” Also, shout out to Ellen, because we all love a good J.Law joke.
4. Jared Leto made us cry like babies.
Photo Credit: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
“In 1971, in Bossier City Louisiana, there was a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child. She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children. She encouraged here kids to be creative and work hard and do something special. That girl was my mother and she’s here tonight. I just want to say ‘I love you mom, thank you for teaching me to dream.’” BRB. bawling. Jared Leto was the favorite EVERYONE knew he would bring home the Oscar for best Actor in a Supporting Role for Dallas Buyers Club (I haven’t even see the movie yet and the clip they showed was enough to convince me) but he still looked humbled and gave the best “Thank You Mom” the Oscars have possibly ever seen. As if that wasn’t enough, he reminded us all that for some around the world, the Academy Awards aren’t enough to escape for a night: “To all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight in places like Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say we are here, and as you struggle to make your dreams happen and live the impossible, we are thinking of you tonight.” I’m not one to cry at such things usually but he had me completely in tears. Check out Jared Leto’s acceptance speech here.
5. Barkhad Abdi has the best Cinderella Story
Barkhad Abdi (on the right) was definitely my favorite for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, although if I were in charge I’d hand Oscars out like candy. Yes, he was great in Captain Phillips (again, he made me cry and that’s not easy to do) but more than that, he has such a great story. The fact that he went from Somalia, to driving a cab in the U.S. to being nominated for an Oscar is incredible. Regardless of the outcome, he looked so incredibly happy to just be there (as anyone would). It’s Cinderella stories like this that keep me watching awards shows. I know everyone’s said it, but I love that he used to drive a limo and Sunday he got to ride in one.
6. Everything about Lupita Nyong’o
We kind of all knew she was going to win last night but it didn’t stop us from fawning over her every time she got on camera from the moment she stepped on the red carpet to her standing on stage when 12 Years a Slave won. First, her dress. As if it wasn’t gorgeous enough, during her red carpet interview, she told us she helped design it. Then when she wins she can barely get out of her seat she’s so excited. A lot of celebs try to keep their cool as if they’re not over-the-moon but not Lupita. She let it all out and it was awesome. So, she gets on stage and says, “It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s.” Awesome. AND if that was enough, she fist pumps her Oscar into the air Breakfast Club style. I may be overusing the word, but Lupita was awesome. She might’ve won the Oscars. Like the whole night. She won.
7. The Best Selfie Ever
Photo Credit: Ellen DeGeneres
You know what I’m talking about. The Selfie that literally broke Twitter. The one you searched for this morning to retweet. Best. Selfie. Ever.
8. Pharell Williams dancing with the nominees
Photo Credit: John Shearer
Everyone knew the Best Original Song competition was over as soon as they let Frozen in but it didn’t stop Pharrell Williams from having the most fun performance last night. With his crew of dancers of all ages he was definitely enjoying himself. The best part of his performance wasn’t on the Oscar stage however, it was when he came into the crowd to dance with the front row. Lupita got to dance with that beautiful dress, Amy Adams proved she has some moves, and even Meryl Streep got in on the action dancing from her seat.
9. Ellen Orders Pizza
It’s no secret that all the stars at the Oscars are starving. So of course everyone chuckled when Ellen said she was going to order pizza. But, when Ellen actually came out with pizza after the next commercial break, it really was like the Hunger Games and all the stars were dashing for the cornucopia. She passed paper plates and napkins out to the elaborately dressed stars who were climbing over each other for a slice. We all watched in awe as we realized that celebrities are “just like us”. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration but it was hilarious watching them scarf down slices of pizza like they hadn’t eaten all day…oh wait…Also, way to go Ellen for saving a slice for pregnant Kerry Washington who I’m sure has had to rethink the popcorn and wine diet.
10. Idina Menzel proves she’s human
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
I LOVE Idina Menzel. I LOVE Frozen. I was ecstatic when I found out she was performing “Let it Go” at the Oscars. I had heard before her performance that she said she was nervous but I thought, “Nah, she was Elphaba, no way is she nervous!” But when she got on stage, she was visibly shaking and you could tell she was rushing the orchestra. Of course, she still sounded amazing because she’s Idina Menzel and the song was “Let it Go”, but it really was refreshing to see for ourselves that the stars get nervous too no matter how many times they’ve performed live. And, I can’t not mention the adorable pair that accepted the Oscar for “Let it Go”. They might have had the cutest acceptance speech all night. They took their excitement and “Let it Go” because when they announced their names they “couldn’t hold it back anymore”. Ha ha! Get it?
11. Ellen is Glinda
This. This is the best.
12. 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
While no one was surprised it was still an ever-so-Oscar moment when everyone involved in the movie got up on stage and warmed our hearts. Lupita, once again, was adorably excited. They really deserved to be up there and in a tight race with no real favorite, it had to feel good to come out on top.
I could go on and on about more of my favorite Oscar moments (Matthew McConaughey, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc.) but I’ll get off my soapbox here. If you missed the Oscars, you’re almost caught up. Now have fun YouTubing all these amazing Oscar moments from the 2014 Academy Awards.