Update: JVL, Vic, and I chatted about the Oscars for a VERY SPECIAL (MINI-) EPISODE of the Substandard. Give it a listen!
/update
Random thoughts, in no particular order:
- The most shocking thing about last night, of course, was Moonlight's win. Not because of the Beatty-Dunaway misadventure or anything, but because it wasn't even close to the best movie of the year.
- (I mean, Moonlight was fine. Solid three stars, most of which were earned during the first segment featuring Mahershala Ali, who deservedly won best supporting actor.)
- (Seriously tho Arrival and Hell or High Water and La La Land and Hacksaw Ridge and Manchester by the Sea and Hidden Figures were all better, in that order. Don't @ me.)
- At the very least, between Moonlight's win and 12 Years a Slave winning a couple years back, we can retire the #OscarsSoWhite nonsense forever, right?
- (lol lol jk i know i know)
- Jimmy Kimmel was great. He perfectly walked the line between flattering Hollywood's sensibilities and making those in attendance just a bit uncomfortable. Seriously: making a "happy ending" joke about Moonlight—the second act of which concludes with a teen getting a handjob on a beach, because that's what love is—was braver than literally anything that anyone in that room could have said about Donald Trump (except, of course, for "I support Donald Trump and hope he gets reelected).
- I also love the fact that the Oscars producers let Kimmel keep his anti-Damon shtick going for the Oscars:
A video "tribute" to Matt Damon... @BenAffleck #WeBoughtAZoo pic.twitter.com/FFE5aJwa43
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2017
- And man, the OJ Simpson joke was fantastic, doubly so since the crowd is groaning while Mel Gibson is giggling:
- Speaking of Mel Gibson, I am surprised, but extremely happy, that Hacksaw Ridge won a couple of awards and Mel got some shout outs from the winners.
- You had one job, PricewaterhouseCoopers! ONE JOB! The Academy has to fire them, right?
- The Washington Free Beacon would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, executive producer of the Academy Award-winning box office smash Suicide Squad, a/k/a, The Citizen Kane of Margot Robbie Butt Shot Movies.
- And, finally, Amy Adams may not have been nominated for best actress—a shocking outrage in a night filled with them—but she certainly won best dress:
