Oscars brought fun for (almost) everyone

My favorite part of the Oscars came just before my least-favorite.
The good part: Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monolog. It was just what we’d hoped for – a clever guy who knows movies, thinks about them and is willing to take some chances.
And the bad: The godawful notion of having a separate tribute to each nominated actor. That meant 20 mini-speeches over the course of the show, some of them fawning. After a red-carpet preview in which every gown was proclaimed fabulous, this was too much.
Still, much of the night was great, including the music (Billie Eilish is shown here) and, especially, Kimmel.
Over four Oscarcast and three Emmycasts, he’s been a sharp host – prepared, yet ready to improvise.
He added neat touches to the usual movie subjects: “Killers of the Flower Moon” was so long that “I had my mail forwarded to the theater.” The first time Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro worked together, she was young enough to be his daughter, “now she’s 20 years too old to be his girlfriend.”
But he also broke fresh ground by explaining that “Poor Things” is about an adult woman with a baby’s brain, “sort of like the lady who gave the Republican response” to the State of the Union speech.
That may be what inspired Donald Trump to proclaim on his social network that Kimmel was the worst host (actually, WORST HOST) ever. Kimmel proudly read the comment on-air and thanked Trump for staying up so late. “Isn’t it past your jaiil time?’”
Some people may criticize Kimmel for being too political, but more will credit him with being funny. The Oscars had three no-host years, plus some no-song ones. Viewers were left with little except droning speeches; this time, they got some fun.
“Barbie” was mostly snubbed – that happens a lot to comedies and box-office hits – but its songs provided two of the night’s other highlights: There was a warm (and Oscar-winniing) ballad by Eilish and a raucous number with Ryan Gosling, a mega-chorus and all the spectacle of long-ago Hollywood.
Another great moment had a near-naked John Cena deciding not to re-create the 1974 streaker incident. With moments like these, the Oscars were a deliight.
And the awards? “Oppenheimer” dominated, deservedly; it’s beautiifully crafted, an epic that is grounded in personal moments. “Poor Things” did even better than expected.
It would have been nice to see Lily Gladstone become the first Native American to win one of the top Oscars (for “Killers of the Flower Moon”). But her role was subtle; Emma Stone’s in “Poor Things” was big, broad and brash. Both were perfect, but subtlety is rarely rewarded.
For that matter, much of the night rippled with brashness. Some presidential candidates may not approved, but chances are most viewers found it to be great fun.