We knew that Everything Everywhere All at Once was going to have a good night, but it ended up having a historic night. It won 7 Oscars, and has tied for most Acting wins and now holds the record for most above-the-line wins of any film ever. While it was not my favorite film of the year, it was the film that was the best choice for the Academy. It was a critical darling but also a cultural sensation and box office hit, that trifecta is very rare, and even rarer for the Academy to reward. It would be like if Get Out had won in its year. So it was a good night for the Academy, signaling they were open to more unique and popular fare without going for the generic blockbuster or the alienating art film.While my choice for who should win in each acting category was generally not the winner, I was absolutely happy with all four outcomes for different reasons. Ke Huy Quan is such a great comeback story, and his speech was maybe the best of the night. Jamie Lee Curtis is one of my favorite actresses who seemed destined to never get Oscar recognition, so even if I didn’t love her performance, I am so happy she has an Oscar. Brendan Fraser was maybe my least favorite win of the night, but I’m happy for him, and if him winning helps get Darren Aronofsky more work then that is a win for me, as Aronofsky is maybe my favorite working director right now (The Whale was a rare misstep). And Cate Blanchett gave my favorite single performance of the year in my favorite film of the year, but as Best Actress approached I found myself starting to root for Yeoh to win, if Everything Everywhere was going to sweep, and if two other actors already won for the film, then she had to be honored as well, the whole thing rests on her head. So her win ended up making me very happy.
The show itself was pretty good. After the train wreck last year and the snooze fest the year before, this was a welcome return to form. Every category was properly recognized, and they even went above and beyond with some by showing elements of what make that category, or even showed us the elements being rewarded (like the costumes being on stage). Jimmy Kimmel was a good host, as always, and they reined in his average Joe bits from previous years, so he was a solid presence throughout. There were, as always, some issues. The Cocaine Bear bit was tired and dragged. The commercial for The Little Mermaid that was presented during the show was egregious and offensive for Disney to do, and the 100 Years of Warner Brothers felt like Disney saying they’d let one other studio get special advertising in show so it wasn’t just them. And I think overall there was a bit of an on-rails feeling that took a bit of energy out of the show, probably intentionally after last year. But those are some minor gripes. The speeches were mostly good, the winners were mostly deserved, and nothing really went wrong, so a win overall.
Stray Thoughts
- I went 13/23 on my predictions, perhaps a new low? I didn’t think Everything Everywhere would do as well as it did, I was surprised by the Elvis shutout, and I mostly got the Shorts wrong. I just wish my bad score correlated with some genuine surprises and not just small shifts in momentum.
- I made the mistake of following BAFTA on my acting predictions and ignoring SAG. SAG ended up being entirely predictive, which surprised me.
- I was sad that so many films were blanked. I like a Best Picture winning a big haul, but I think they could have made more room for The Banshees of Inisherin, Tár, The Fabelmans, or even Elvis. No Oscars for any of those films feels a little silly.
- In Memorium was good, but felt like people were missing. I didn’t like how rushed and up tempo it was last year, so if some people get left off in favor of a better flow, I’m ok with that.
- Was glad we got so many clips from the movies nominated, both in the acting presentations and Best Picture. It is good to show people a bit of what is nominated, it piques their interest!
So I still am a bit surprised a film as singular as Everything Everywhere All at Once won as much as it did. Does it signal a change in the types of films that can be rewarded or is it a one off? And while I think this was the best choice to represent this year in cinema, I am very curious how it ages as a winner decades from now. Will it be revered as a bold smart choice, or will it seem a bit silly with some distance? Not sure, but right now I’m pretty happy with it.
