From the faces on the silver screen to the hard workers behind the camera, the Oscars signifies the best of the best. Cinephiles from all over await this event to celebrate their favorite films — or hope the ones they didn’t like don’t win. A year’s worth of discourse bubbles down into one evening. So, was this year’s awards show worth it? Let’s discuss.
The show opened with a montage of films centered around California, paying homage to the recent Los Angeles wildfires that spread back in January, with the final shot saying, “We love LA,” in stars. Just like other awards shows this season, the Oscars continued to pay tribute to those impacted by the fires by displaying a QR code throughout the show so people could learn more information and donate. From there, the lights dimmed and we got a breathtaking performance from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Grande delivered a beautiful rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” and was then joined onstage by her co-star, Erivo, who sang “Home” from The Wiz. They wrapped up their wicked introduction with Erivo singing the beloved “Defying Gravity,” where she belted every note perfectly, including the notable riff at the end. It was a very moving performance, and we could see people in the audience tearing up — myself included.
First-time Oscar host Conan O’Brien made his entrance by referencing The Substance, and delivered his monologue, poking fun at the nominees of the night. They joked around, showing younger headshots of some big actors, like Guy Pearce, Zoë Saldaña, and an ultrasound for Timothée Chalamet to make fun of how much younger he is than his fellow nominees. Adam Sandler also made an appearance where O’Brien told him he had to change outfits, since Sandler is known for showing up to events in casual attire.
Jokes aside, some of the key takeaways from his monologue were when he stated that at no point did they use AI to make the 97th Oscars Ceremony. O’Brien also took a moment to acknowledge the crew behind the scenes of filmmaking, and stated, “The magic, the madness, the grandeur, and the joy of film worldwide is going to be with us forever.” Lastly, since everyone knows awards shows can go on longer than intended as a result of acceptance speeches, O’Brien was strict with the fact that there would be no wasting time that night…with a musical number about not wasting time.
Robert Downey Jr. kicked off the awards portion of the night, presenting the award for Best Performance By an Actor in a Supporting Role. Kieran Culkin won for his role in A Real Pain, where he plays a free spirit that struggles with the loss of a family member and joins his cousin (Jesse Eisenberg) on a trip to Poland to learn more about their Jewish heritage. Culkin used part of his acceptance speech to remind his wife about a deal they made after he won an Emmy in 2023. He told her he wanted more kids, and she said it would happen when he finally won an Oscar. Well, the time has come.
Continuing the night, Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn presented the awards for Best Animated Feature and Short Film, but Garfield took a moment to be sentimental in thanking Hawn. He mentioned his mother, who passed away in 2019, saying, “There’s a person who gave my mother during her life the most joy, the most comfort, and tonight, I feel very lucky, because I get to thank that person from the bottom of my heart. That person is Goldie Hawn.” It was a very sweet and endearing moment between the two, and Hawn said she was touched by his sentiment. They then announced the win for Flow for Best Animated Feature Film, giving the country of Latvia its first Oscar. In the Shadow of the Cypress took the award for Best Animated Short Film.
Around 19 million people tuned in to watch the Oscars on Sunday, giving it a 1% increase from last year’s award show according to ABC7. O’Brien attempted to acknowledge the international audience by addressing them in their respective languages. He spoke in Spanish, Hindi, and Mandarin, thanking Spain and India for tuning in, then jokingly asking for a job in Mandarin. While his pronunciation was up for debate, his effort was appreciated by those online.
Lily-Rose Depp, Elle Fanning, John Lithgow, Connie Nelson, and Bowen Yang all came out to thank their costume designers who were nominated for the films they worked on last year. They were elegantly dressed — all except for Yang, who was wearing his uniform from Wicked, saying he must not have “gotten the memo.” The winner of best costume design was Paul Tazwell, making him the first Black man to win the award for costume design. He thanked the cast of the film, saying, “I could not have done this without you, my Ozian muses. Thank you for trusting me with bringing these characters to life. This is everything.” This puts Tazwell one step closer to achieving an EGOT, as he previously won a Tony award for his work on Broadway’s Hamilton, and an Emmy for The Wiz Live!. I guess you could say Yang “not getting the memo” was worth it.
Former Bond girl Halle Berry came out to introduce the tribute performance to James Bond, featuring big stars like Margaret Qualley, Lisa from BLACKPINK, Doja Cat, and Raye. Qualley surprised the audience first with an elegant dance number to the Bond theme song, where she shined in a red dress. From there, the singers covered iconic songs from the franchise: Lisa performed “Live and Let Die,” Doja Cat sang “Diamonds are Forever” in a diamond-covered dress, and Raye took on the last song, “Skyfall.” Some might have been confused with the homage to the Bond movies, but Amazon recently announced it was taking over the franchise from the Broccoli family, which it has been under since 1995. So, I guess you can say it was more of a tribute to their contribution to the films than anything.
Another big category, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, was presented by last year’s winner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won for The Holdovers. She handed the Oscar over to Zoë Saldaña for her role in Emilia Pérez. Saldaña thanked the two biggest women in her life in her acceptance speech, her mother and grandmother, as well as acknowledging her roots: “I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands.” Saldaña also spoke about how she made history as the first American of Dominican descent to accept an Academy Award. She stated, “I will not be the last, I hope.”
There was one thing missing from the 97th Oscars this year, and it was in the form of performances. The long-standing tradition of live performances from the Best Original Song nominees dates back to 1946, but this year, they skipped out. The only other years that went without original song performances were 1989, 2010, and 2012. This year, rock-and-roll legend Mick Jagger made his way to the stage to present the award, which went to Emilia Pérez for “El Mal.”
Best Documentary Feature was up next, presented by Selena Gomez and Samuel L. Jackson. No Other Land took the category, which centered around a Palestinian community and Israel’s destruction in the occupied West Bank. The directors of the film used their acceptance speech as a platform to speak out regarding what’s been going on. “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” one of the film’s directors, Basel Adra, said. “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together, our voices are stronger,” Yuval Abraham continued, touching on how Adra and himself are living different and unequal lives. “Why can’t you see that we are intertwined, that my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe?”
Overall, the big winner of the night seemed to be Anora, directed by Sean Baker. Anora took home the Academy Awards for, Best Original Screenplay, Achievement in Film Editing, Best Directing, and Best Picture. The movie’s lead actress, Mikey Madison, also won for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film focuses on a sex worker from New York who meets and quickly marries a Russian oligarch whose family wishes to split them up. In both Madison and Baker’s acceptance speeches, they took time to dedicate the award to the sex worker community, saying, “I share this honor with you.”
The three-hour-and-50-minute show was packed with stars and talent both on and off screen. For now, awards season is over, and cinephiles can take a breather. Give it a few months, and before we know it, we’ll be back to discussing who deserves to take home those golden statues at the 98th Oscars.