2016 ACADEMY AWARDS RECAP!

We begin this 2016 Oscar telecast recap with a quote from the legendary comedy, “Anchorman”:

“What in the hell is diversity?!”

There was very little doubt that we’d make it through this year’s epic ceremony without bearing witness to  political posturing and personal agendas. True, when you’re handing out trophies at a self-congratulatory awards show (one that, admittedly, I adore), politics and such often come with the territory, but the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony went a little overboard. So much in fact, that at times, it distracted from what the Oscars are really supposed to be about: The movies!

Host Chris Rock valiantly attempted to straddle the line and while the famed stand up comic was more hit than miss, even he wasn’t about to go through the telecast without addressing the elephant in the room.  An awkward bit in which Rock interviewed film goers at a Compton movie theater felt neither funny nor eye-opening. It did, however, end amusingly enough as one theater patron energetically professed his love for “Superfly.”

On the flip side, Rock was responsible for a true 2016 ceremony highlight. Midway through the telecast, the comic brought his daughters on stage and used Hollywood’s biggest televised event as a platform for his little ones to sell girl scout cookies to a venue full of mostly wealthy A-list movie stars. He even took a playfully spirited pot shot at big shot studio mogul Harvey Weinstein for not patronizing his children. In the end, Rock’s daughters took in over $65,000 in sales. Not a bad haul.

Beyond that, there were a handful of other comical high points: A moment in which SNL funny lady Leslie Jones was digitally inserted into the famed bear attack from “The Revenant” was inspired lunacy at its best, and it positively brought the house down! You haven’t seen DiCaprio tossed around like a rag doll until you’ve seen him tossed around by Leslie Jones!

There was also a brief but clever mock tribute to Jack Black. The reel — which was narrated by the great Angela Bassett — was designed to lead viewers into believing that it was actually about to showcase movie star, Will Smith. But then, they pull the old bait and switch. A short gag, but it worked.

On the presenter front, Louie CK stole the evening during his presenting of the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. After a stirring, applause-inducing a speech in which the stand up comic addressed the importance of an Oscar for lesser known storytellers in categories just like this, Louie read the nominees, opened up the envelope, and revealed that the winner was…”Mad Max: Fury Road!” Funny guy.

Ali G made a rare appearance as a presenter, and he was an absolute riot. His mispronouncing of nominee names made for a few hearty laughs. Adding to the unpredictable genius and rebellious nature of comic mastermind Sacha Baron Cohen, is the very idea that he showed up to the telecast as Ali G against the Academy’s wishes. Sometimes, if you want the big laugh, you have to live dangerously.

As for the awards themselves, there were a few upsets:

Best Picture went to “Spotlight.” Truth be told, Tom McCarthy’s gripping look at real investigative journalism and an upsetting cover-up involving a religious institution was favored to take home the gold a few months back but in recent weeks, it appeared that “The Revenant” had stolen it’s thunder. In a surprising turn of events, the stronger movie ultimately prevailed.

With “Mad Max: Fury Road” rightfully dominating the technical awards, it seemed as if it might take home a statue for Best Visual Effects, too. Instead, Academy voters handed the award to Alex Garland’s stunningly well crafted “Ex Machina,” leaving a shut out “The Force Awakens,” “The Revenant” (a nomination earned in part for a truly unforgettable bear attack), Ridley Scott’s excellent “The Martian,” and a virtually unstoppable “Fury Road” in its dust. And you know what? “Ex Machina” was completely worthy of the honor.

In one of the more appalling upsets of the evening, Sam Smith won Best Original Song for “Writing’s On the Wall,” one of the dullest James Bond theme songs in years. How Lady Gaga’s heartfelt and far more meaningful “Til It Happens to You” (from “The Hunting Ground”) was left by wayside, we’ll never know.

Speaking of live performances, Gaga delivered a passionate if overly theatrical rendition of her nominated tune. And The Weekend (“Earned It” from “50 Shades of Grey”…Yes, “50 Shades of Grey” was nominated for an Oscar!) and Sam Smith gave solid if slightly uneventful  performances. Probably the strongest live performance of the evening was from a musician who wasn’t even nominated. Dave Grohl was on hand and did a gorgeous, understated acoustic version of “Blackbird” as a tribute to a handful of well-renowned storytellers who passed away in 2015.

What’s really worth noting though, is that despite their worthy nominations, Anohni  and David Lang  were not invited to perform their nominated songs during the ceremony (“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction” and “Simple Song #3 from “Youth”) in the interest of cutting the running time of the telecast. If you ask me, the Joe Biden and Cheryl Boone Isaacs speeches should have been cut to make room for Anohni and Lang. If said artists were good enough to be nominated, then they were certainly good enough to perform during the telecast.

Perhaps the most disappointing upset of the evening was Mark Rylance’s win for Best Supporting Actor in Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies.” Truth be told, Rylance is phenomenal in that picture and more than worthy of the win, but I was positively heartbroken for Sylvester Stallone. His return to the role that put him on the map in “Creed” was some of the best work of his iconic career.

The rest of the evening would find the Academy sharing the wealth amongst some of the more noteworthy films of 2015, namely  “Spotlight” (Best Picture, Best Screenplay), “The Revenant” (Best Director, Lubezki three-peating in the Best Cinematography category), “The Big Short” (Best Adapted Screenplay), “Room” (Best Actress), “Inside Out” (Best Animated Feature), and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (virtually dominating all the technical categories.)

Sadly, “The Martian” and “The Force Awakens” were shut out despite being nominated in multiple categories. “Carol” and “Brooklyn” didn’t fair well, either.

Leonardo DiCaprio finally took home a statue for his exhausting work in “The Revenant,” and while he was probably more worthy of winning the gold for his performances in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” it was undeniably cool to finally see him have an opportunity to read an acceptance speech, even if it was capped off by his expected agenda pushing.  It would have been nice to see a more deserving Fassbender win this award for his blazing turn as Steve Jobs but again, DiCaprio has been so damn solid in so many movies in the last decade, that it was great to see him finally come out on top.

For all the awards handed out, perhaps the most joyful moment of the evening was seeing 88-year-old Italian composer Ennio Morricone win his first ever Oscar for his outstanding “Hateful Eight” score. Visibly touched by this long overdue win, Morricone thanked everyone from Quentin Tarantino to John Williams during his emotional acceptance speech. This was the very personification of awesome!

All in all, it was a sub-par ceremony.  A gray cloud created by politics and overblown controversy — a controversy that isn’t really about the

Oscars at all — hovered over the entire show, and it’s unfortunate because it took away from what is, quite often, a magical affair dedicated to that wonderful art form that is movie making.

For a list of all the winners, click HERE.