The 91st Academy Awards was the Worst Possible Outcome in Nearly Every Way
By: Richard Lebeau
Tags: Movies, Culture, Media, Oscars, Film

A Review of the Telecast

The Academy did not quite keep their promise of getting the show down to under 3 hours, but it was still far shorter than any ceremony in recent memory. But the cost was that everything felt rushed and absolutely nothing unexpected happened (save a couple of surprise winners and inspired speeches, which are elements outside of the control of the show’s producers).

Many will surely applaud the lack of the unnecessary clip packages, musical tributes, skits, and other filler that pad most Oscar ceremonies. But it turns out that when the fat is trimmed, things become exceedingly workmanlike. Exhausting and uninspired. The show presented all 24 awards, had a little presenter banter, a few musical numbers, and in the In Memoriam segment. That’s it. Not a lot of room for fun or spontaneous things to happen.

Importantly, the telecast being dull was not due to the show being without a host. Kevin Hart would not have made the night work better — and he certainly would have made it longer.

The show made a few smart choices with regard to on-air talent, including the selection of the legendary Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts to take the stage during key moments late in the show and giving extended presenter bits to Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph (who essentially served as a 3 minute hosting monologue) and Melissa McCarthy and Bryan Tyree Henry (whose Costume Design shtick was a real highlight).

Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler delivered a brief monologue that injected some life into the show (Copyright: AMPAS/ABC)

But the rest of the presenter selection was a mess. The use of famous people without obvious ties to the film industry was perhaps interesting on paper but it failed in execution. As gifted as they are in their respective crafts, I don’t particularly care what Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, tennis superstar Serena Williams, or Chef Jose Andres have to say about this year’s Best Picture nominees. (One exception was Civil Rights leader/Congressman John Lewis…I did care what he had to say.) And the remaining presenters were either randomly paired (e.g., Dame Helen Mirren and Jason Mamoa, Pharell Williams and Michelle Yeoh) or obvious attempts at appealing to young viewers (e.g., the fact that at least 10 of the presenters are key players in the Marvel Cinematic Universe). What’s wrong with having actual A-list film industry legends in the film industry on stage? Is it that they are invited, but won’t accept? Or are they just not hot and fresh enough to get good ratings?

Barbra Streisand was one of the few true A-listers to make an appearance (Copyright: AMPAS/ABC)

The telecast had 6 musical performances, all of which were fine. Queen (with Adam Lambert in the role of lead vocalist) opened the show with a medley that should have set us up for a big night for Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a solid performance, but the shots of the crowd rocking along looked very forced and I don’t like it when the Academy singles out a single Best Picture nominee for excessive attention. Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic did a lovely job with the “In Memoriam” segment and it was nice not to have the distraction of a singer belting a melancholic song during it.

Four of the five nominated songs were performed. (Kendrick Lamar declined his invitation to perform “All the Stars” from Black Panther.) Jennifer Hudson showed off her impressive set of pipes with “I’ll Fight” from RBG. Gillian Welch and Dan Rawlins did a nice job with the folksy “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The legendary Bette Midler stepped in for Emily Blunt with a gorgeous performance of “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns. (And she looks and sounds absolutely wonderful for 73.) Then there was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s beautiful rendition of “Shallow.” In sharp contrast to her performance of the song at the Grammys a few weeks ago, it was toned down, tender, and beautiful. It was also cleverly staged as the instruments were brought out without introduction and Gaga and Cooper silently walked to the stage from their seats to perform. It was one of the night’s few highlights.

Bette Midler delivered a lovely performance (Copyright: AMPAS/ABC)

Perhaps next year, the show’s producers can stop trying so hard to make things appealing to young viewers and can focus on celebrating the art of movie-making with actual film industry stars and inspired tributes to film history.

Oh, and if the voters could not give half of the awards to a trio of dumpster fires (Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Vice) that would a big help as well.