Going for the Gold: The 2024 Oscar Ceremony

        

For years, ever since I can remember, I’ve watched the Oscar telecast. At first it was a chance to participate in my parents’ world by discovering the movies that excited them. I vividly recall how thrilled they were when the modestly-budgeted Marty beat out some schmaltzy epics like Love is a Many Splendored Thing. And decades later, during my father’s final illness, I remember him cheering for Schindler’s List at a time when he was much too frail to actually watch such an intense drama. In 1968, for perhaps the first time, I’d seen all the  Best Picture nominees, and felt that most of them (The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night) significantly touched on the issues that were rocking my own world. My fascination with the 1968 ceremony—which gave golden statuettes to In the Heat of the Night and director Mike Nichols for The Graduate—led me in a highly roundabout way to the writing of my most recent book, Seduced by Mrs. Robinson.

 All and all, I’ve loved the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Oscars. Which doesn’t mean I’ve always agreed with the prize-winners. And certain ceremonies, like that weird mid-pandemic celebration held at L.A.’s Union Station (it was all set up to give its ultimate honor to the late Chadwick Boseman, but Anthony Hopkins spoiled the party) have left me with a bad taste in my mouth. But I agree with those pundits proclaiming this year’s event as one of the best in recent memory. First of all, the nominees were an exciting mix of supersized blockbusters, intimate dramas, and comedies that had something to say. I also appreciated the internationalism of the nominee roster, including the fact that the five powerful films on the feature-length documentary list were all from countries outside the U.S. One of the evening’s most powerful moments came when the Ukrainian director of 20 Days in Mariupol proclaimed that he wished his film hadn’t needed to be made, but that in documenting the Russian invasion of one of Ukraine’s largest cities he was obeying the precept that “cinema forms memories and memories form history.”  I appreciated, too, the carefully crafted words of Jonathan Glazer, Oscar-winner for a uniquely staged Holocaust drama, The Zone of Interest, who decried both the October 7 massacre in Israel and the deaths now dominating the news from Gaza.

 It was also worth noting that German-born actress Sandra Hüller was introduced to many of us via not one but two best picture nominees, The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of Fall. For her performance in the latter, she was nominated for a Best Actress statuette. Though she didn’t win, she aroused my curiosity to the point where I sat down to watch an earlier Hüller-starring vehicle, Toni Erdmann, in which I saw far more of her than I expected. The Oscars can definitely be considered educational.

 But of course an Oscar ceremony wouldn’t be fun without a large dose of silliness. In that category I’d put the evening’s most extravagant musical number, the pink and perky “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. I’d also include some pretty hilarious gowns, so extravagantly poufy that woe to anyone sitting next to the wearer of one of them. (Paul Giamatti, though, didn’t seem to mind.) Also in the silly category, the very undraped, very muscle-bound John Cena presenting the statuette for Best Costume Design. And, too, something I only THOUGHT was a gag, a social media post from a certain former U.S. President lambasting Jimmy Kimmel’s hosting gig. Yes, it really happened.