One thing I did not like is that this year's Oscars were presented out of order. Traditionally, Best Picture is always the last award presented of the night, with Best Director being the penultimate award given. For whatever reason, last night the Best Director award was given early in the evening, while the Lead Actor and Actress awards were given after Best Picture. Aside from the fact that his breaks with tradition, to me it made the whole end of the ceremony anti-climactic. Best Picture has always been acknowledged as the biggest award of the night. For me, at least, my interest in the awards were not as strong as it is prior to Best Picture being presented. I suspect that is true of many people.
Of course, I thought the presentation of Best Actor was handled very badly. Joaquin Phoenix couldn't have made his disappointment at Anthony Hopkins's winning the award for The Father over Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom more obvious. Worse yet, Mr. Phoenix simply accepted the award on Anthony Hopkins's behalf when, according to The Guardian, Mr. Hopkins's co-star Olivia Colman was in the audience and prepared to accept the award on his behalf should he win. Regardless of who he wanted to win, Joaquin Phoenix's behaviour was unacceptable in an Oscar presenter. Of course, here I have to note that Mr. Phoenix was not the only one who was disappointed that Chadwick Boseman did not win. As for myself, I have seen neither The Father nor Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, so I don't have an opinion. I do have friends who think Mr. Hopkins entirely deserved to win the Oscar for Best Actor.
While Joaquin Phoenix's behaviour and the abrupt ending to the ceremony were definitely among the Academy Awards' low points last night, the night did have some very fine moments. Like many, I was touched by director Thomas Vinterberg's acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film for Another Round. For those who don't know, Mr. Vinterberg's daughter, Ida, died in an automobile when Another Round was only a few days in production. Of her death and the film, he said, "Before her death it was an ambition to make a life-affirming film; that became a necessity. I wanted to celebrate the life that we lose so easily." Mr. Vinterberg's acceptance speech was then not merely an acceptance speech, but a beautiful tribute to his daughter Ida.
This year the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was given to both the Motion Picture & Television Fund and Tyler Perry. Both awards were well deserved, and both presentations were inspiring. The Motion Picture & Television Fund is the first organization to win the award. For those unfamiliar with The Motion Picture & Television Fund, they are a charity that cares for those in the movie and television industries who have no families or limited income. Of course, Tyler Perry is well known for his humanitarianism. His acceptance speech last night called on people to "refuse hate."
Another highlight for me last night night was Korean actress Yuh-jung Youn winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as Soon-ja in the movie Minari. From the very beginning she was both charming and funny. Despite being a film and television legend in Korea, Yuh-jung Youn behaved as many of us would upon meeting actor Brad Pitt, a bit starstruck. If a Korean icon being starstruck at meeting Brad Pitt was not enough, Yuh-jung Youn was genuinely happy at winning Best Supporting Actress, while exhibiting a high degree of humility. She mentioned every single one of her fellow nominees. Her speech was easily the funniest and most charming acceptance speech of the night. Here it must be pointed out that Yuh-jung Youn's win was historic. She is the first Korean actress to win an acting award and only the second Asian to win the Best Supporting Actress Award.
Yet another highlight for me was Rita Moreno presenting the Best Picture award. Miss Moreno was beautiful, charming, and funny, as always. Of course, as a matter of full disclosure I have to admit that I have had a crush on Miss Moreno since I was eight years old, so that for me she is always beautiful, charming, and funny.
Here I have to say this year's Academy Awards were much more inclusive than past years have been. Many more people of colour were nominated in categories and even won. Chloé Zhao was both nominated for and won the Best Director award for Nomadland. Chadwick Boseman, Riz Ahmed, and Steven Yeun were nominated for Best Actor. Viola Davis and Andra Day were nominated for Best Actress. Daniel Kaluuya and Yuh-jung Youn won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively. While there is still room for progress, the Academy Awards were much better this year in acknowledging the contributions of people in colour.
While the 93rd Academy Awards had some high points last night, the In Memoriam segment was one of its low points. I have to admit that last night the Academy included many more beloved stars than they have in In Memoriam segments the past several years. In the past several years they have excluded such big names as Andy Griffith, Polly Bergen,Robert Vaughn, and Tim Conway, among many others. In 2019 they even excluded my dearest friend Vanessa Marquez, despite an online petition that exceeded 12,000 signatures.
Fortunately, this year's In Memoriam included actors that I suspect they would have excluded in prior years, including Cicely Tyson, Cloris Leachman, Yapht Kotto, Paula Kelly, Wilford Brimley, Marge Champion, and Dame Diana Rigg. That having been said, they did exclude three people who should have absolutely been included in the In Memoriam segment. While Honor Blackman may be best remembered as Mrs. Cathy Gale on The Avengers, she also made several movies, including a turn as Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1964). Like Honor Blackman, Jessica Walter may have been best known for her work in television, but she appeared in several movies, including Grand Prix (1966), Play Misty for Me (1971), and The Flamingo Kid (1984). They also excluded composer Adam Schesinger. While many of will best remember him for his work with power pop band Fountains of Wayne, he worked a good deal in motion pictures. He even wrote an Oscar nominated song, "That Thing You Do!," for the movie of the same name. Adam Schlesinger's omission is particularly galling given Angela Bassett in her introduction to the In Memoriam mentioned the many COVID-19 deaths last year. Mr. Schlesinger died from COVID-19 on April 1 2020.
While last night's In Memoriam included more beloved actors than most, it also proved to be one of the worst In Memoriam segments the Academy Awards ever produced. It seemed to move forward at warp speed, with each person shown for only microseconds. Given we lost such big names as Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman, Sean Connery, and yet others this past year, the speed at which the Academy rushed through the In Memoriam segment seemed downright disrespectful. Their choice of song to accompany the In Memoriam segment only made matters worse. Don't get me wrong. I love "As" by Stevie Wonder. I also love "Got to Get You into My Life" by The Beatles, but I wouldn't want it played during an In Memoriam segment! The problem with "As" is that it much too upbeat for something as solemn as an In Memoriam segment.
Anyway, I think the Academy has to face some facts with regards to the In Memoriam segment. First, it is one of the highlights of the night for the viewing audience at home. It is a chance for them to acknowledge the stars they love. For that reason, it should not be rushed and it should be accompanied by a suitable song. Second, beloved stars should be included in the In Memoriam segment, regardless of how much time that adds to the segment. When the audience wants to see Andy Griffith, Vanessa Marquez, or Honor Blackman during the In Memoriam segment, you had damn well better include them. In the end the In Memoriam segment should not be made for the Academy, it should be made for the audience at home.
Over all I cannot say I was as unhappy with the 93rd Academy Awards as I have been some others. I did like the scaled-down ceremony in that it was free of the dance numbers and unfunny comedy routines that have bogged down some ceremonies the past few years. On the other hand, I really did not like that the awards were presented out of their traditional order. Best Picture had been the final award since 1927 for a reason. I also wish that for once the Academy would do the In Memoriam justice. They really need to take care that the stars audiences love, like Jessica Walter and Honor Blackman, are included, even if it makes the In Memoriam longer. And the In Memoriam should not be rushed through. If it last four minutes and a half (the average length of a TCM Remembers segment), then so be it. The Academy Awards are a chance for the movie industry to show off. It is a chance to thank movie fans for their continued patronage of movies in the past year. Sadly, the past many years, the Academy has missed their mark in both showing off and making sure that they are grateful for movie audiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment