Here are a few things I was able to grasp:
• Chris Rock’s monologue was smart and hilarious and right on. The Jada Pinkett joke was a home run. She brought that on herself.
• The scrolling thank-yous at the bottom of the screen didn’t deter winners from still thanking everyone in their stratospheres. Old habits die hard.
• Cadillac had the best commercial of the night. It was everything a commercial on a big stage should be:
• Louis CK had the best joke of the night, talking about the winner of best documentary short taking home the Oscar in a Honda Civic. He should eventually host the show.
• Dave Grohl’s rendition of Black Bird during the “In Memoriam” was beautiful. I’m not sure why, but this segment always motivates me more than any other to work even harder.
• Good for Brie Larson, who is now going to give Jennifer Lawrence a run for her money. Many people don’t remember (or don’t know) that Brie tried to be a pop singer in her teens, and it didn’t work out.
• Sam Smith proudly thought he was the first openly gay person to win an Oscar, but he wasn’t – Dustin Lawrence Black, the writer of Milk, was the first.
• Alejandro Iñárritu really deserved the Oscar, and I love that he challenges himself and never does things the easy way, much like my favorite director, David Fincher. By the way, you want diversity? The last three awards for best director have gone to Mexicans.
• Good for Leonardo, though I thought he deserved the Oscar for The Wolf of Wall Street. The Revenant was yet another role for him based on a real person, which makes him the best character actor out there. That said, interesting to note:
