The 96th Oscars was full of surprises, emotional speeches, and moments of fun, including a show-stopping more-than-Kenough performance by Ryan Gosling himself.
The event started off strong with Jimmy Kimmel setting the tone for the night as he reprised his role as host for the fourth time. With clear confidence and comfort amongst the sea of celebrities, Kimmel immediately made the room laugh and maintained a positive flow without making it all about him.
As he nodded jokes to people in the crowd, Kimmel did well with representing everyone and even gave an overdue, but deserved moment to the award show crew, who all stepped out from behind the scenes for an on-stage appearance.
The first category of the night went to Best Supporting Actress, which was creatively introduced by five former winners who each gave an ode to their assigned nominee. This Oscar went to Da’Vine Joy Randolph for her performance in The Holdovers, who gave a very moving and beautiful speech as she was overwhelmed with not only emotion but also gratitude.
As the categories went on, many presenter duos, such as Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy, had comedic banter to keep the flow of the night in between awards.
Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste, Scott George, Becky G, and Ryan Gosling were set to perform their songs nominated for Best Original Song, and Eilish was first to perform early in the night.
Eilish performed her hit “What Was I Made For” from Barbie, and like every other live performance, it was stunning. On a rotating pink stage, Eilish was dressed to impress and her vocals most definitely did not fail to impress either.
As Eilish and her brother Finneas harmonized, the live orchestra opened up above them and joined in smoothly, which took the song to another emotional level. Eilish received a much-deserved standing ovation from the crowd, as everyone erupted in loud cheers for the importance of her song and how beautifully it was performed.
Continuing to make history, Billie Eilish became the youngest person to win two Oscars alongside her brother Finneas. Winning for Best Original Song, the entire Barbie cast looked beyond proud as she hugged them and made her way to the stage. The duo has now won for a second time the triple crown, a Grammy, Golden Globe, and Oscar for music in film. With this being the only win for Barbie the entire night, there is definitely something devastating yet poetic about ‘What Was I Made For’ being the only Oscar Barbie won.
As the night went on, one particular movie began to sweep the awards. Poor Things won the next three categories which included Makeup and Hairstyle, Production Design, and Costume Design. Barbie most definitely should have taken production design as all of their sets were created by hand and nothing was CGI. As well as Makeup and Hairstyle, Barbie should have had this one too. The actresses looked exactly like Barbie dolls and they captured it perfectly taking away any feel of humanness to the actors.
In between announcing two of those categories was a hilarious moment between John Cena and Kimmel. Cena appeared on stage “naked” as a funny bit leading into the Costume Design category. As a comical way to speak to the importance of costume design, it was also a look back on the unplanned moment a streaker ran out on the Oscars stage in 1974.
After this surprising bit planned between Cena and Kimmel, Scott George and the Osage tribal singers performed ‘Wahzhazhe’ (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon which was nominated for Best Original Song. This performance included more than two dozen musicians gathered around a tribal drum for an exhilarating rendition of the song. The stage was vibrant with lights and a red backdrop with a glowing sun in the center. After the impactful performance they received a standing ovation from the crowd which matched the celebratory importance of the song.
One of the next most anticipated categories was Best Supporting Actor, with nominees including Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling, and Mark Ruffalo. This win was taken by Robert Downey Jr. for his role in Oppenheimer which was loudly applauded by the crowd, as it was his first Oscar win.
In another first for Oscars, 20 Days in Mariupol won the Documentary Feature category which made it the first Oscar win in Ukrainian history. The win was also a first for Mstyslav Chernov, an AP video journalist, and the 178-year-old news organization.
Just when the performances for the night were thought to be over, Ryan Gosling was shown in his seat dressed in a full sparkly pink suit and cowboy hat, and ‘I’m Just Ken’ began to play. This performance was truly one of the most entertaining moments of the night and was very memorable. Gosling genuinely nailed it the entire time and was committed to the performance. The entire audience was up and singing as he brought the microphone to America Ferrera, Greta Gerwig, and Margot Robbie, who sang their hearts out. This unexpected performance by Gosling turned into one of the best moments of the entire night.
The last categories presented of the night were all highly anticipated. Oppenheimer took the sweep starting with Lead Actor, Cillian Murphy who took his first ever Academy Award and is also the first ever Irish-born winner of a Best Actor Oscar. Christopher Nolan then won Directing for Oppenheimer which was hugely deserved, but there was lots of controversy around this category prior to the night as Greta Gerwig did not get nominated. It really is absurd that Gerwig was not even nominated when Barbie brought the most money into the box office and was one of the most talked about films of the summer. The unbelievable amount of value for women she was able to represent for girls of all ages across the world deserved to be given more credit. Wrapping up their awards with Best Picture, Oppenheimer went into the night with a leading thirteen nominations and took home a total of seven overall.
Most certainly not to be forgotten was Emma Stone’s win for Lead Actress. Stone took her second win in this category and was extremely emotional up on stage. With a minor wardrobe malfunction on her dress, she made light of it and went on to thank all the important people in her life. Her speech was touching as she mentioned her three-year-old daughter and husband and the wonderful impact they’ve made on her life.
The Oscars seemed to have little controversy this year and were full of special and supportive moments. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and the performances throughout the night created and kept a fun environment overall. The memories made from this year’s Oscars will not be forgotten and it’s safe to say this was the best Oscars there has been in years.