The dominating news out of the Oscars this year was not that a deaf actor won an Oscar for only the second time in history, an LGBTQ Afro-Latina actress won Best Supporting Actress and an African American man won Best Actor. The problem was the latter launched the “slap heard around the world.”
Will Smith did not appreciate a joke from Chris Rock about his wife’s bald head (Alopecia) and the King Richard actor didn’t take too kindly to it. After initially laughing, he sauntered up to the stage and promptly struck Rock with an open-hand slap.
Moments later, Smith would apologize to everyone, except the man he slapped, in his acceptance speech for Best Actor. I’m sure this subject will be covered ad nauseum in the coming days and weeks. But sadly, it overshadows a historic night at the Oscars where we finally had hosts for the first time and years… to mixed results.
So, without further ado, here is a grade book:
HISTORY
First and foremost, history was made on this Sunday evening for the reasons listed above. It was also the first time that a movie that possesses a predominantly deaf cast won Best Picture. That is a moment to treasure for all eternity. I have always said that the winner of Best Picture should be something that the Academy can hold up 50 years from now with immense pride. That, more than often, has not been the case of late. That is not the case this year
CODA was just the film we needed in 2022 and it left us with hope, familial love, and an unquenching desire to pursue one’s dreams. There was also the history that a female director won for the second year in a row and for her, Jane Campion (for The Power of the Dog) is now two-for-two in Oscar nods and Oscar wins. History.
Grade: A
DUNE TECH SWEEP
It was hardly a surprise, but Denis Villeneuve’ sweeping epic Dune, based on the book by Frank Herbert, was a Best Picture nominee and led all nominees with ten. It hardly had a competitor insight for the technical awards. It scored, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing, Earning a bunch of Oscars for a big sci-fi spectacle is not new, per se, but what Dune achieved the evening of March 27 by leading all winners with a half-dozen trophies without winning in any of the “Big 7” categories—Best Picture, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actor, Original and Adapted Screenplay or Best Director (which Villeneuve wasn’t even nominated in one of the biggest Oscar snubs of awards season).
Grade: A-
OSCAR HOSTS
When producer Will Packer announced that the Oscars would return with hosts for the first time in years, it was received with a sigh of relief by anyone who has seen the broadcast for the last several years. You can imagine our surprise when it was revealed that not only was a host once again a part of the show, but we the audience would get three—Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer. If you’re looking for a common thread amongst this trio, look no further because there isn’t one. It was a head-scratching move. Any one of the three would make a fine singular host, but together, we just can figure out what these fine ladies have to do with one another. The only thing I can think of is that Sykes or Schumer—as comedienne—are molded for such a task, Now, Hall has a long history of working with Packer, so there you have it.
So, how did they do?
When the three began the show, we tipped our hat to the known for always sporting his own chapeau, Packer. The three had chemistry, collective comic timing, and an innate ability to roll with each other’s ebbs and flows. The issue is that when the show had been broken into three parts with a host tackling each section. There seemed to be a jaggedness to the show in this department as well as many of the individual time moments of jokes simply fell flat. Here is a prediction for the guy who called 92-percent or the evening’s twenty-three categories.
Use a host, no question. But settle on one of the trio of hosts who have something they’re plugging or simply know each other extremely well when those cameras are turned off—we’re looking at you George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Andy Garcia. It would also be fascinating to see Tiffany Haddish be given a look, as well as Only Murders in the Building stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez together. There’s always the solid bet that would be any combination of Kirsten Wigg, Mya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey. How about all five?!
Grade: C
PRESENTERS
The best, most endearing moment to give us hope for the world’s future arrived when Liza Minelli joined Lady Gaga as they arrived to present the biggest award of the evening—Best Picture (which went to Apple TV+’s CODA).
Some, including The Movie Mensch, questioned several of the selections. For one, to mark James Bond’s 60’s anniversary, they convened a who’s-who of extreme sport legends—skateboarder Tony Hawk, skier Kelly Slater and snowboarder/skater Shaun White. Now, these three are connected, for that there is no debate. But you mean to tell me that the still alive men who played the iconic role—George Lazenby, Daniel Craig, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and even Sean Connery. That would bring down the house.
Lastly, could someone please tell me how Sean Combs (Diddy) had anything to do with The Godfather, or at least its remix on 4K for a big-time anniversary? He introduced Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and director Francis Ford Coppola for the big 5-0-year celebration. Do you mean to tell me that Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, James Caan or Andy Garcia was also not available?
Grade: C-
VIEWERSHIP
Yes, the audience increased over last year and by a large margin, which was the lowest on record. But, still, judging by how low last year was, this annual fete should have eclipsed last year’s affair. The 2022 Oscars drew 16.6 million viewers in America, up 56-percent from last year. The show was the highest-rated entertainment celebration in primetime for the last two years. That should be a reason to celebrate. But I would ask, “at what cost?”
Eight of the categories were awarded before the television show began, robbing those people of the moment they earned that took a lifetime of sacrifice to get where they are. Plus, it made the editing of the program disjoined and didn’t quite “feel” quite like previous years.
THE SLAP, WILL SMITH & CHRIS ROCK
OK, now it is time to talk about issue number one, the preverbal elephant in the Dolby Theatre. Long story short, Chris Rock came out to present the award for Best Documentary (which went to Questlove for his stunning Summer of Soul). As a comedian is born to do, he adlibbed a few jokes along the way, to resounding laughs as only Rock can. Except that one was directed at Jada Pinkett-Smith and her shaved head and something about being ready for G.I. Jane 2. Now, that joke may have worked 25 years ago when GI Jane first came out. Second, Pinkett-Smith has made it well known that she is not bald by choice. She has alopecia, which forces those with the affliction to lose all their hair. For some, it is quite physically painful, for most everyone, it’s a psychological hot spot. Rock claims he did not know about alopecia. Perhaps he should have done a little research.
What shouldn’t have been endeavored is how Will Smith responded. He sauntered up to the stage where Rock was standing, and he hit him. He then returned to his seat and launched into an F-bomb-laden tirade directed at Rock. The presenter kept his cool, announced the winner, and handed the iconic golden bald man to his friend, Questlove.
Since then, Smith has resigned from the Academy and Rock is out on an international tour where his opening night was in Boston the day after the Oscars. The Academy is weighing all its options on what to do with Smith, including forcing him to return his rightfully earned Academy Award. It’s already hitting his bottom line as two high-profile projects were announced to be on hold. The Oscars are also doing their own investigation.
Some say, when it comes to sitting front-row in front of a comedian, you’re fair game. Then again, should one’s physical ailment causing a physical response be worthy of a slap to the face? These are all inquiries that the Academy will be undergoing in the next few weeks.
Resigning his spot at the Academy is a bit much, in my opinion. Yes, he broke their code of standards, but then some could argue that so too did Rock. Even if it is true and Rock did not know about the alopecia, it doesn’t give him the right to make fun of a person’s personal appearance in front of millions.
Why, I think, this is such an enormous deal, is that Will Smith is been our buddy. He has been in our living rooms since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted in 1990. Then between Six Degrees of Separation and the release of Independence Day, Smith was a multi-talented and gifted individual. The rest of his filmography is well documented, and his portrayal of Venus and Serna Williams’ father Richard is the stuff of legend in King Richard, and we knew he would win the moment the nominations were announced. Many called the standing ovation he received when he won uncalled for and promoted violence. Several believe he should have left the Dolby Theater the moments after the “slap heard around the world.”
Then, there was Smith utilizes a series of trigger words for those who have been abused, in his acceptance speech, “love will make you do crazy things.” It’s the classic “defense response” when an abuser has done something wrong. Is Will Smith… Will Smith… an abuser? Whatever the answer to that question will be ongoing—as will this story that is showing signs of not going anywhere. Covid? Ukraine? Knocked right off the front page.
It is all just one big mess and whether he was right or wrong is not in question. Violence of any kind is wrong. It’s just when one feels they need to defend their family, you may have taken the joke too far.
Grade: F