The 91st annual Academy Awards Ceremony was held on February 24th at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and it was quite the night for film buffs. Between the pre-Oscars backlash and controversy, and a shocking Best Picture winner, there were certainly highlights and lowlights of one of Hollywood’s biggest nights. Below are the best and worst moments from the 2019 Oscars.
BEST MOMENT: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Performance of “Shallow”
Traditionally, the nominees for Best Song perform live at the Oscars. Fans of A Star is Born had been anxious to hear the long-awaited performance of “Shallow” by co-stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Although Lady Gaga has performed the song several times on her current tour, the two have seldom sung the love ballad together, which created a unique and intimate experience on the Dolby stage. Cooper’s raspy voice, specifically trained for his role as Jackson Maine, mixed with the powerhouse that is Lady Gaga, gave the audience a passionate, romantic moment, allowing the song to win in its category. I’m going to be watching this performance daily for at least the next week.
WORST MOMENT: Bohemian Rhapsody Winning SO Many Awards
Alright, listen: I’m not trying to hate on Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, or any of the people who worked on this biopic of Freddie Mercury’s life. However, this film won too many undeserved awards. In fact, this film was mentioned a little too much as a whole, during the night. While I wholeheartedly agreed with Rami Malek’s winning of Best Actor, as I felt he was the best and redeemable part of the movie, the fact that this film won three other Oscars, all for editing, was a little extreme. In fact, the Twitter universe has had some choice words of their own. One user says, “Was trying to kid myself into thinking BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY wouldn’t win this many #Oscars, but it’s time to face the awful tooth”. Another says, “Every time Bohemian Rhapsody wins an Oscar, God kills a bunny. #Oscars”. While my feelings probably aren’t THAT strong about this, it was disappointing. And a little annoying.
BEST MOMENT: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Winning Best Animated Feature
While it did not come as a surprise to most, Sony’s, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took home the award for Best Animated Feature. However, according to the film’s creators, the biggest win of the night was the ability to show diversity and representation in a superhero film. During their acceptance speech, Phil Lord said, “So, when we hear that somebody’s kid was watching the movie and turned to them and said, ‘He looks like me’ or ‘They speak Spanish like us’, we feel like we already won”. This was followed by a round of applause and inspiring eyes from viewers around the world. I might have shed a tear or two, but that’s not important.
WORST MOMENT: Green Book Winning Best Picture
To say I, as well as audiences around the world, was shocked at hearing the words “Green Book” as the announcement of Best Picture, would be a complete understatement. I was mouth-opened, eyes wide, hands grasping my couch, shocked. Or as the youth would say, “I was shook”. There was not a single doubt in my mind, or that of many others, that Alfonso Cuarón’s, Roma, the emotional story of the servant of a middle-class family in Mexico, would take home the award. However, some responded with more than shock. Director Spike Lee attempted to storm out of the theater at the announcement that his film, BlackkKlansman, did not win. In response to losing this year, as well as in 1990 to Driving Miss Daisy, he says, “I’m snakebitten…I mean, every time somebody is driving somebody, I lose”. Like Lee, several have criticized the Academy for falsely awarding the nomination. Personally, I loved Green Book. It was a solid, feel-good, educational movie that most audiences would be able to enjoy. However, it did not deserve to win Best Picture, which most found obvious.
Story by: Amanda Walton
amanda.m.walton22@gmail.com
