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“No to war, and free Palestine,” declared actor Javier Bardem, teeing up the award for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards while wearing two political pins you could see from outer space. He didn’t need to read the room. The audience exploded into cheers and applause, kind of like the equivalent to a parent responding when a toddler proudly declares he has just used the potty. Way to go, buddy.
The ceremony will always be political, yet, after watching all six million hours of the Oscars broadcast (red carpet pre-show to Vanity Fair afterparty), I feel a little dirty.
At first, I was all in on host Conan O’Brien’s cold open where he dressed as Amy Madigan’s Best Supporting Actress-winning character from “Weapons” in a bit set to the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” I love the Beastie Boys and crazy wigs. And I think Conan is genuinely funny. Less than two minutes into his monologue, he announced, “I should warn you, tonight could get political.” As if future trophy winners needed anyone waving them in for a soft landing.
Referencing the Super Bowl halftime show sponsored by Turning Point USA, Conan added, “If that makes you uncomfortable, there’s an alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock. It’s at the Dave & Buster’s down the street.”
I want to say this ceremony went light on politics, overall, but maybe that’s like going “light” on pancake syrup and not stopping until the plate, table, and floor are fully submerged in Aunt Jemima. (Sorry, I mean Pearl Milling Company, whoever she is.) On top of myriad ”ICE OUT,” ceasefire, and “BE GOOD” pins adorning lapels and décolletage, author and “queer” activist Glennon Doyle leveled up with a glittery “F*ck Ice” clutch. If I hadn’t just moved from my apartment on Hollywood Boulevard, I could have danced in the glow of the skyscraper-sized “ICE OUT of L.A.” projection on the Loews hotel during the event.
Most stars fell in line, even if they accidentally gave up the fact that they were beholden to optics. Sporting an Artists for Ceasefire pin for Gaza, “Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran seemingly nailed the text from her manager, word for word. “I think that I am so blessed to have a platform and this is the least I can do to use it,” Chandran said on the red carpet.
Inside the Dolby Theatre, insulated from real life by the thick velvet curtains covering Sephora ads normally seen along the staircase into the theater, titans of the entertainment industry freely relaxed in the collective hot tub of A-list groupthink. This is the exact thing crushing the very art they allegedly gather to celebrate.
Best Adapted Screenplay winner for “One Battle After Another” writer Paul Thomas Anderson said, “I wrote this movie for my kids, to say sorry for the housekeeping mess that we left in this world,” encouraging the youngest generation to usher in “common sense and decency.”
Joachim Trier, winning director of Best International Feature “Sentimental Value,” took the stage to thank the people who worked on his film as well as his family. It was all going great until he took on the weight of representing everyone else in his category, and the world, paraphrasing American writer James Baldwin by adding, “Remember that all adults are responsible for all children, and let’s not vote for [politicians] who don’t take this seriously into account.”
Remembering his friend, the late legendary director Rob Reiner, actor Billy Crystal gave space to Reiner’s decades-long career, capping it off with his crowning achievement: fighting social injustice with his late wife. “Rob and Michelle Reiner became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality across the United States,” Crystal said, turning the rainbow flag up to 11. Sure, the Reiners donated their wealth to influence California and national politics. But I refuse to remember that more than Reiner’s devastatingly brilliant directorial turns in “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” and “Stand By Me.” Especially as his final Academy bow.
He wasn’t hosting this year, but Jimmy Kimmel still took a few swipes while introducing the awards for best documentaries. He made a crack at free speech in the U.S. and slammed first lady Melania Trump’s self-titled documentary, which wasn’t nominated, saying, “There are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes.”
Statistics on gun violence made the cut during speeches for Best Documentary Short winner “All the Empty Rooms.” I wondered if they were even true. By that point in the show, I was too tired to ask ChatGPT or laugh at anyone’s belabored jokes. For one night, could we not obsess over the major issues of the day and just have a little fun? I don’t want to know — in fact, I would pay the price of an actual movie ticket not to know — what celebrities think about politics.
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The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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