Since I posted so many stories on the weekend before the Oscars, I thought I should offer my thoughts on the show itself. The last few years, I've actually barely watched, following on Twitter, and checking in when there's buzz over a certain award or performance. This year, I actually watched all the way through. I thought Jimmy Kimmel did a decent job, and although I may be the only one, I laughed out loud when Kimmel asked Malala about Harry Styles, Chris Pine and spit-gate.
One of my favorite moments of the night happened as much on-line as it did on the screen. There was a universal unison thirsting when Paul Rogers won for film editing for Everything Everywhere All at Once. It wasn't just that Rogers is incredibly hot, it was also his great speech, including using the phrase 'sexy people' describing his co-workers the directing team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
I wish I could share some shirtless shots of Rogers, but his Instagram page is as sweet as he appeared on stage when he won. As thirsty as many of us were, there were no thirst traps on his page, in fact I could hardly find any shots of Rogers by himself. Oh his picture is there, a lot, but his handsome face is usually snuggled next to his beautiful wife on one of his children. Given that this was only his second editing job, I look forward to what he creates in the future.
In addition to Rogers and the Daniel's, I was generally pleased with all the winners. I enjoyed The Fabelmans, and though the acting in The Whale was great, but Everything, Everywhere All At Once really deserved the prize. I was also thrilled to see Sarah Polley win for adapted screenplay over some of the bigger budget films.
As for the musical numbers, for me, none came close to the brilliance of Naatu Naatu from RRR. I was actually pretty underwhelmed by Rihanna and Lady Gaga. I know many called Gaga's performance stripped down, but I thought it was a bit contrived. When one changes into a costume for a performance, it's called a costume. Given Gaga arrived in full make-up and a gown, it seemed sort of silly to wipe it all off simply to appear more 'raw'. Gaga has given some incredible Oscar performances, but for me, this wasn't one of them.
Rogers looking fine at the BAFTA's