Last Sunday, for the first time in over twenty years, the Oscars was broadcast live for free in the UK. Before that, film buffs had to subscribe to Sky or even worse in later years, Sky Cinema. There’s something special about watching the biggest most spectacular show in its entirety.
I always watched it on BBC2 as a kid, which was its home for years. I remember staying up late (yes, I have always been naughty) on my little portable TV and knackered at school the next day. There’s always so much more than what you see in highlights, and yes, I know it’s long, but every year, I was entertained.
From the shock win of Crash over Brokeback Mountain, which I was pretty happy about to be honest, to one of the best features, Best Song. Each nomination is performed. The most memorable for me was the year Matt Stone and Trey Parker were nominated. Both my little brother and I were glued. Out came Robin Williams with gaffa tape over his mouth before removing it to sing and gasps from the chorus, replacing the word f*$k. It was awesome. As we were both massive South Park fans, to see it in such a prestigious event was fantastic. Stone and Parker attended in drag, which also made the red carpet particularly memorable.
The only moment of Best Song that surpassed it was when Eminem won for ‘Lose Yourself’. Seeing an artist you were obsessed with breaking history for being the first hip-hop song to win was groundbreaking. This year, Billie Ellish gave a hauntingly beautiful performance (and won), and no doubt you’ve seen Ryan Gosling’s performance of ‘Just Ken’ on social media.
But it’s not just the music, for each of the big acting Oscars, five previous winners and legends of the industry gave a little speech directed toward each nominee which added prestige and how much it meant. Each nominee had their moment and a chance to recognise their achievement in being nominated.
The presenters are another highlight. Seeing Hollywood in its most formal attire, including many stars that were not shown on the red carpet. One of my favourite moments was when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito reunited to present Best Visual Effects. They did this amazing routine about their roles in Batman films. And then cut to Michael Keaton in the audience. This whole bit was such a surprise and created so much joy for comic book fans. YouTube it if you missed it, it was hilarious!
The only disappointing aspect was the In Memoriam section (and the hosting, Jimmy Kimmel is definitely more American humour), the Oscars are more detailed so you get to see people who were in smaller roles, but you loved. The dancers and musicians were predominantly featured, making it hard to see who was being remembered. It was quite emotional when they showed Matthew Perry. He looked so young compared to others, and so handsome, it was a painful reminder that he left us much too soon.
All in all, it felt like a real treat to watch the show again, I really hope ITV has the rights for years to come. Where else can you see John Cena butt naked, unable to open an envelope because it’s covering his bits?
Geek Girl Eats Cake 