The 93rd Academy Awards have just wrapped up and I have to say, this is probably the worst Oscars show I have seen. Yes, I am also including the horrendous Oscars hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco in 2011. At least that year’s ceremony was energized and fun, even if the majority of it was awkward. This year’s award ceremony was tedious to watch. The show started off great with Regina King presenting a couple of awards. But then it dawned on me that the rest of the show would be exhausting.
First, there was too much talking of the films nominated. Films are a visual medium that we watch. Why talk about the film when we can watch a small clip of the film. It may seem like a small thing but the clips of the films nominated missing was a mistake. The second mistake the academy made was letting the speeches go on for too long. It’s great that filmmakers want to celebrate and thank their close friends and family. But why should the speeches go on for mere minutes? There is a reason why past award shows have enforced the time limit. A speech going longer than it needs to not only gets boring but it drags down the show.
The entire ceremony was a slow burn. There were moments where I wanted to check out, something I have never done with the Oscars. But then came the last few minutes. Rita Moreno came on stage to present Best Picture. However, the leading actors awards had yet to be presented. Nomadland was presented Best Picture. Not my favorite film, certainly would have liked another film to take this one, but it’s a good enough film where it deserved the win.
After the Nomadland win, the two lead actors awards were presented. Frances McDormand won for leading actress. Again, I thought someone else should have taken this one but I have no complaints that McDormand took this one home. The final award of the evening was lead actor. Leading up to this awards ceremony, Chadwick Boseman had won nearly every lead actor award at other awards show. When Anthony Hopkins pulled an upset and won the award, it felt a bit insulting. Not insulting that Hopkins won, because he’s a fine actor, insulting that the Oscars pushed Best Actor for the last award for either ratings or to get an emotional send off due to Boseman being the front runner to win. They used the late actor yet when he wasn’t announced as the winner, the producers of the show must have felt embarrassed due to the rushed ending. I would not have a problem with this if Best Picture was the last award handed, not Best Actor.
When someone watches a film, the ending is the most memorable part as it is the last thing we see. If this year’s Oscars were a film, this was a poor film. The entire show being slowly paced and the fact that the ending was a complete mess made for one of the worst shows in history. Here’s hoping next year is a vast improvement.
Edward's Film Reviews 