November 4, 2024

The Best and Worst of Oscars 2018

The comedian Tiffany Haddish, perhaps the brightest light of this awards season, showed up on the red carpet wearing a traditional Eritrean gown, a homage to her late father, and hopped a velvet rope to jump in front of Meryl Streep, whom she curtsied to. But it was Ms. Haddish’s decision to wear her white Alexander McQueen dress onstage as a presenter that really popped.

Ms. Haddish wore the same frock on the red carpet for “Girls Trip” and onstage as host of “Saturday Night Live.” During that gig, she noted that the gown had cost more than her mortgage and that she would wear it again and again. “I don’t give a dang about no taboo,” she said. Seeing her wear it again to the Oscars only underscored her persona as the down-to-earth funny woman people can’t seem to get enough of. — Cara Buckley

The Envelope Least Susceptible to Mix-Ups

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Viola Davis announcing best supporting actor. Credit ABC

With new practices in place, it would be hard for the Oscars to repeat last year’s best picture mix-up.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed several changes in January, including that presenters make sure they have the correct envelope before they go onstage, with that fact confirmed by stage managers, too. PwC accountants were forbidden from using social media during the show, in hopes of reducing distractions.

But the biggest change became quickly apparent as Viola Davis presented the award for best supporting actor. The gold, bold type on the envelope, loudly announcing the name of the category, was so unmistakable it could be read clearly on TV. Last year’s envelope was an elegant red, but the lettering on it was rendered in a light, not-easily-readable gold. — Daniel Victor

The Most Political Statement

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Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani. Credit Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times

Before introducing the award for production design, Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani made one of the night’s most pointed political statements. The two introduced themselves as immigrants — Ms. Nyong’o was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya; Mr. Nanjiani is from Pakistan — and then made a not-so-subtle appeal on behalf of the so-called Dreamers, who are in the United States under the policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Their future remains in limbo after President Trump moved to end the program.

Ms. Nyong’o and Mr. Nanjiani, without mentioning the politics of immigration directly, briefly spoke about dreams being the “foundation of Hollywood” and the United States. Mr. Nanjiani, who was nominated for best original screenplay for “The Big Sick,” closed by saying, “To all the dreamers out there, we stand with you.” — Sopan Deb

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The Best Acceptance-Speech Opener

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Allison Janney winning best supporting actress. Credit Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times

Allison Janney brought the house down when her first line upon accepting her supporting actress Oscar for “I, Tonya” was a brash “I did it all by myself.” If she had left it there, it would have been a speech for the ages, and probably would have earned her a Jet Ski, referring to the host Jimmy Kimmel’s prize for the shortest speech of the night. — Margaret Lyons

The Sweetest Victory After 13 Losses

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The cinematographer Roger Deakins won his first Oscar. Credit Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times

The 14th time was the charm.

After repeatedly being nominated for Oscars for cinematography on films like Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun” and Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption,” Roger Deakins finally won his first statue. His work on the sequel “Blade Runner 2049” did the trick for an expansive career dating to the 1970s.

Mr. Deakins was lighthearted and reserved in his acceptance speech, joking that he had “better say something or else they’ll give me a Jet Ski.” — Sopan Deb

The Worst Use of an Editing Trick

Montage overload. We don’t need montages about how the existence of movies is good; these are the Oscars, so we in the audience have at least a marginal appreciation of the form. High-within-the-low: All the montages were superb! There were just way too many of them. — Margaret Lyons

The Most Electrifying Number

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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/movies/oscars-2018-highlights-recap.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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