Oscars Recap: Winners and Losers

Well the Oscars are over, and while we had some rapid reaction to it all, we’ll take a minute to talk about the big winners and losers, as well as grading the show and hosts.

Winners: Obviously, The Hurt Locker was the biggest winner, taking home six Oscars including the big ones for director Kathryn Bigelow and Best Picture. Also a winner was Precious, which was expected to win Mo’Nique Best Supporting Actress (and did), but also took home an award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Of course, Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock were big winners taking home the two lead acting awards. Both were so genuinely touched and grateful that they won, and I actually wasn’t too upset Bullock won after the speech she gave.

Losers: Avatar was the most notable loser of the night, though it took home three statues, though in categories they were expected to win (Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects). It was shut out of the two major awards for which it was nominated, Best Director and Best Picture. In the end, doesn’t making more money than any other film ever make it a winner? Probably. The other big loser was Up In The Air, which left empty handed. Though it was a long shot in several categories, the film that won the National Board of Review’s Best Picture, lost to precious in the Adapted Screenplay category where it had the strongest chance of winning.

Hosts: This had potential to be a disaster, but it turned out great. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin played off of each other predictably well, but their jokes were always right on the mark. The Paranormal Activity bit aside, they didn’t have a miss all night.

Good: The show overall was not that bad. The best bit of the night was definitely Ben Stiller’s Na’avi costume and bit, which continued his string of great Oscar bits. The show moved pretty fluidly, even with the need to introduce 10 Best Picture nominees. The tribute to John Hughes was also very touching and was yet another reminder of how brilliant that man was.

Bad: The interpretive dance to the Oscar scores was completely unnecessary. Yeah, it was impressive dancing, but the dance had nothing to do with each score, and went on way too long. And why they cut out the original song performances, but kept this was beyond me. There was also the introductions for the Lead Acting categories, where the nominee’s have someone on stage gush about them, that was the worst holdover from last year. It’s awkward and takes too long. The show ran a half hour over, which could have at least been cut in half without it.

Best Acceptance Speech: Jeff Bridges. So great to see The Dude not only win, but be so humbled and elated. He’s a man that has always been himself, and that speech was about as unique as you can get.

Worst Acceptance Speech: Sandy Powell for Best Costume Design. The gist of the speech: “I won again. I dedicate this to everyone that hasn’t won, but you didn’t, I did. Again.”

Overall: For a predictable Oscar night, it wasn’t all that bad. The show didn’t feel tedious to watch like it has in the past, and there weren’t any sore losers that stole headlines. All in all, it was one of the best Oscars in recent years.