Oscar: Diversity, Humor, Abusers
Complaining about the length of the Oscar broadcast is like complaining about the length of a baseball game: if you don’t like it, change the channel. Contrary to many, I thought Jimmy Kimmel a perfectly decent host. He had a few good riffs, and if he lacks glamour he makes up for it in jollity. I wish he’d stop doing the surprise-the-real-people routine that flopped last year and flopped again this year. The jet-ski contest was only slightly less corny, although it was nice to see a gay guy (fashion designer Mark Bridges) take the crown. LGBT folk had a big night: James Ivory won Best Adapted Screenplay and
Daniele Vega, whose movie “A Fantastic Woman,” won Best Foreign Film, was Oscars’ first-ever transgender female presenter. As for the big awards, I was happy that “Get Out” didn’t win best picture, although its writer/director, Jordan Peele, made history with his screenplay win. “The Shape of Water” won the big prize, as well as best director for the quite-eloquent Guillermo del Toro. Mexicans have won the directing prize four of the past five years. It was a good night for Mexico in general: “Coco” won best animated feature and best song, although that song was croaked by the generally attractive Gael Garcia Bernal. In spite of all the shout-outs to diversity and #metoo, Oscar still managed to give statuettes to woman abusers Kobe Bryant (for a short film) and Gary Oldman, as best actor, for “The Darkest Hour.” Plus ca change…As for Rex Okpodu, LW’s Oscar predictor, his forecast was very respectable. Of the major awards, he missed only foreign film.
