Oscars 2019: A Few Upsets and an Absent Host Couldn't Keep the Gold Statues Down

(Left to right) Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Regina King, and Mahershala Ali

I'm going to just throw this out there--and a lot of other people obviously feel the same way: I was upset about Sunday night's Best Picture winner at the 91st Annual Academy Awards. Don't get me wrong, Green Book is a really good film, with solid performances from nominated actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali (who did take home the best supporting actor honor) and somewhat different perspectives on race and class.

For my money's worth, however, I felt that fellow Best Picture nominees Roma and Black Panther (Alfonso Cuaron's deeply personal story of an indigenous maid in 1970s Mexico City, and Ryan Coogler's superb adaptation of the famed Marvel hero, respectfully) were two films that really broke new ground in terms of diversity and cultural representation on screen, not to mention filmmaking and storytelling in general. (Roma, for the record, was not only a high contender to win best picture and not just the Foreign Language Film award, the latter of which it did win. It has also become, without a doubt, one of the greatest films ever made.)

Not to say that the true story of the friendship between Italian-American bouncer Tony Vallelonga and African-American concert pianist Dr. Don Shirley didn't have that as well. It's just that Green Book seems like conventional Oscar bait that only took a few risks with its technical and thematic elements and, in some ways, "played it safe," compared to what many would consider stronger competition. (In retrospect, the same thing has been said about previous Best Picture-winning films like 1982's Gandhi, 1989's Driving Miss Daisy, 2005's Crash, and 2015's Spotlight.) It also seemed that, although the Academy managed to get through the telecast just 17 minutes over its three hour schedule, the ceremony did seem a bit rushed.

All controversy aside, if the Oscars focused on anything specific this season, it's several things. One, they managed to exceed expectations in carrying on without a host. (The last time was in 1989, when actor Rob Lowe sung a poorly-received duet with, of all characters, Snow White.) Two, all of the categories were presented and given on television and not during commercials (as verified by presenters Tyler Perry, Michael Keaton, and openers Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. Three, as IMDb make note, the Academy continued its stance in being more diverse by coupling different groups of presenters, like Pharrell Williams & Michelle Yeow, Angela Bassett & Javier Bardem, and (my favorite) Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyler Henry, both of whom appeared onstage in over-the-top outfits parodying Best Picture nominee The Favourite, complete with rabbit puppets. "The nominees tonight have proven we are all part of the same ocean," said Alfonso Cuaron while accepting the Foreign Language Film award for Roma.

Samuel L. Jackson (right) congratulates Spike Lee on the latter's first Oscar win

"Party on!" Mike Myers and Dana Carvey present Bohemian Rhapsody

Other highlights included watching presenter Jason Mamoa's thrilled reaction to Best Documentary Feature winner Free Solo (ditto Samuel L. Jackson's stoked reaction to director Spike Lee's first-ever Oscar win, for co-writing BlacKkKlansman), actor-comedian Keegan-Michael Key literally dropping in on the ceremony in Mary Poppins fashion, actor Paul Rudd's visual effects gag, Supporting Actress winner Regina King's humble and gracious acceptance speech, and actress Laura Dern announcing the upcoming opening of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the film Bohemian Rhapsody surprisingly won four of its five nominated awards, including Best Actor for Rami Malek (a "first-generation American" son of Egyptian immigrants), who acknowledged the legacy of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (himself the son of immigrants). "I may not have been the obvious choice [for the role]," stated Malek, "but I guess it worked out." There was even a live opening performance from Queen (with current frontman Adam Lambert) that rocked the house, literally with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". Did I mention that Mike Myers and Dana Carvey of Wayne's World fame reunited to present the Queen biopic, and to recall the former film's iconic scene of them head-banging to the legendary song?

Getting back to Roma, the film did gain two more wins for Cuaron's cinematography and direction of the film. "As artists, our job is to look where others don't," said Cuaron, while accepting the Best Director award (his second, after 2013's Gravity), further exemplifying the film's significance.

More importantly, I thought to myself that the greatest thing for any of these nominees (win or not) was the fact that they were recognized and acknowledged for the work they did in 2018, not to mention the themes many of them echoed in terms of believing in the impossible, never giving up, and being inspired to be better people. The opening montage of films from 2018 was a wonderful celebration of another year in film, and not just for those nominated. (We should remind ourselves that, while still considered Hollywood's biggest night of the year, the Oscars are not the only film awards show there is, for better or worse.)

Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (left) is embraced by Roma stars
Yalitza Aparicio (middle) and Marina de Tavira (middle-right)

Following a show-stealing performance of the song "Shallow" with Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born (seriously, that P.O.V. from the stage was priceless), singer-turned-actress Lady Gaga stated in her acceptance speech for her Best Song win, "It is not about winning, it's about not giving up. If you have a dream, fight for it. . . . It's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep going." Olivia Colman (one of the biggest surprise winners of the night, for her leading role in The Favourite), said, "to any little girl who's practicing her speech on the telly, you never know." Animated Short film winner Domee Shi (for the Pixar animated short Boa) said, "To all the nerdy little girls behind their sketch books, don't be afraid to tell your stories to the world." Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, not surprisingly, won Best Animated Feature, thanks, in part, for being an immersive film visually and culturally. Said co-producer Christopher Miller, "800 filmmakers [spent four years pushing] boundaries and took risks to make people feel powerful and seen." Honoring people of all backgrounds, co-director Peter Ramsey added, "The world needs you. We're counting on you."

Speaking of heroes, while Black Panther didn't win the top prize, it did still garner awards for its costume design, production design, and score (a new record for a comic book movie), the fact that it was recognized as a Best Picture contender is alone a new benchmark for films based on comic books and superheroes. Who would've thought they'd come this far? And they're still on a roll.