An Oscar Winner Takes Shape

Well after all the hoopla on how unexpected this year was going to be, it ended up being pretty tame. I went 17 for 24, not my best but not too bad either. Shape of Water is our big winner, and while I didn't predict it, it had a lot going for it to make its win seem obvious in retrospect. But while the clues were there for it to win, the film itself remains one of the most unusual winners ever. We've had films win that felt atypical before, but in ways that still felt important or big. Shape of Water, a film I quite loved, isn't that. It's a monster movie with an extra layer of artistry than we might expect from the genre. It's a throwback film that won in an era in which the Oscar seem intent on awarding new and progressive visions. I'm not sure how it will hold up as a Best Picture winner, but it's certainly an interesting choice.

Looking over the winners, there really isn't anything that stands out as a surprise. Maybe "This Is Us" losing to "Remember Me," especially after that disastrous performance by Gabriel Garcia Bernal. But even then we knew Coco was strong in the category. The acting wins were all expected, and I can't really fault any of the actors. Rockwell, Janney, Oldman, and McDormand are all great actors who've been working for a long time, giving great performances along the way. I wouldn't have picked most of them this year for the win, but all the same they weren't bad choices. And can we talk about Frances McDormand for a second?

That speech McDormand gave when she won has to go down as one of the classic Oscar clips we'll see for decades to come, right? After being so curmudgeonly all season it seemed like we'd be in for a repeat performance here. Instead she showed real enthusiasm for the win, and she had something to say. In a year of Me Too, she ended up being the perfect voice for the movement tonight. Calling on all the female nominees in the house to stand up, it made for a thrilling and emotional moment. Good for her on making her moment a moment for all women.

Random Thoughts

• I wasn't overly impressed with Jimmy Kimmel last year, but I felt he stepped it up a notch this time. He seems very invested in being a perpetual host, something the Oscars have been searching for since the late 90s. After tonight I would be ok with that. New blood is always nice, but as a reliable standby he works well.
• One caveat though: can he stop doing these ridiculous skits with normal people? Last year a tour group was brought on stage, this year he took celebrities next door to the Chinese Theater. It's awkward and not especially funny. 
• I genuinely thought Get Out was going to win once it won Screenplay. Picture rarely missed a win in that category, and the response when Peele won indicated a lot of love.
• Loved the montages this year. Clip reels of past winners in each category was a lovely touch, please keep that tradition around. The tribute to 90 years of Oscar history was also great. The war film one though felt a bit out of place and maybe should have been dropped, especially when the show almost hit 4 hours!
• Shame Lady Bird walked away empty handed, especially in a year so devoted to women's films. Fingers crossed Oscar isn't done with Greta Gerwig just yet.
• Kobe Bryant: 1 Oscar. Paul Thomas Anderson: 0 Oscars.
• Roger Deakins finally won! Can't believe it took that long, glad it finally happened (and for genuinely great work, no less).
• A lot of Hollywood legends were on display this time, which was wonderful to see. Rita Moreno still had so much energy and verve. And Eva Marie Saint giving an impromptu story about her time working on On The Waterfront and getting advice from "Fred Hitchcock" was perfect. Can we make more time for things like this in the future?
• On the flip side, they reduced the mention of the honorary Oscars to a few seconds, packaged together with the Sci-Tech awards clip. At least give those honorary winners a chance to be recognized in the real ceremony!

Another year on the books. It was a bit less exciting in terms of winners, reflective perhaps of a less than thrilling year overall for film. But the show was quite lovely on the whole, and I can't really hate any of the winners. Sometimes that's all you can ask for with the Oscars.