I make no apologies for the fact that I greatly enjoy the Academy Awards. They're silly and absurd and meaningless, but also entertaining and a reasonably good way of starting a discussion/argument about the movies. Last night's show was really, really good, you guys. A few highlights.
Chris Rock Was Hilarious
Chris Rock proved why he's one of the best stand up comics going, keeping the audience both laughing and nervous—at one point early on, Hollywood's best and brightest were awkwardly clapping for Civil Rights-era atrocities like lynchings and rapes. He highlighted both the ridiculousness of no black actors being nominated and the ridiculousness of getting incredibly butthurt about no black actors being nominated. He joked about the idiotic "ask her more" campaign. He pointed out that Hollywood is filled with white liberals who won't hire black folks. He made a joke about not being asked to sleep with Rihanna! Between he and Louis C.K., this was the funniest show in ages.
Mad Max Took Home the Most Trophies
This year's ceremony reminded me of 2000's a bit, during which a relatively boring and forgettable film that hit all the right political notes won best picture but The Matrix still walked away with a handful of trophies and a Star Wars flick got shut out. Mad Max: Fury Road didn't get any of the big wins—no best picture, no best director—but it did take home six statues for editing and costume design, among other categories. Speaking of costume design...
Jenny Beavan's Jacket
Jenny Beavan won the Oscar for best costume design. Jenny Beavan also wore a leather jacket that was bedazzled with Immortan Joe's logo on the back. Jenny Beavan is my new hero. We should all aspire to be Jenny Beavan.
"Oscar-winning film Ex Machina"
One of the bigger surprises of the night was that neither The Force Awakens nor Fury Road took home the statue for best visual effects. Rather, it was Alex Garland's smart and understated directorial debut, Ex Machina, that won. And deservedly so! Ex Machina certainly didn't have the most visual effects, but the few that it had were perfectly in service of the movie's themes about the nature of humanity. As a bonus, it will forever be known as "the Oscar-winning film, Ex Machina." And that's nothing to sneer at!
Lady Gaga Propagates Bogus Stat
During the red carpet pre-show, Lady Gaga repeated the claim that one in five women will be raped before they graduate from college. There's no way to put this politely: That stat is utter bullshit. Ashe Schow explained why here. Christina Hoff Sommers explained why here. Two of the researchers who worked on the goddamn study that Gaga is incorrectly citing explained why here. People should really stop saying that "one in five women will be raped before they graduate college." That is simply false.
Also, her song sucked. But not as much as Sam Smith's song sucked. My God, how did that horror show "Writing's On The Wall" win anything?
Ennio Morricone's Standing Ovation
You had to love this. Ennio Morricone has been working in movies for twice as long as I've been alive; he finally won a competitive Oscar last night. The standing ovation he got was well-deserved.