Critic’s Notebook: Another Long Night at the Oscars

Well after the three-hour mark, the game and goofy Oscar host Conan O’Brien quipped, “If you’re still enjoying the show, you have something called Stockholm Syndrome.”

I guess I’m immune.

Once again, despite the host’s best efforts and the producers’ apparent desire to stage a variety show at odd intervals, the 97th Oscars show lumbered on with occasional bursts of surprise, once again stretching perilously close to a four-hour running time before signing off amid an Anora sweep. (That said, the charming Mikey Madison‘s win in the title role registered as one of the night’s few suspenseful toss-ups.)

The show front-loaded most of its best moments in the first half-hour before a single award was handed out. Opening with a magical Oz medley — Ariana Grande singing “Over the Rainbow” from the original The Wizard of Oz, Cynthia Erivo belting “Home” from The Wiz, then teaming on Wicked‘s signature song “Defying Gravity” — the showstoppers handed off to Conan, who took over with a terrific filmed gag spoofing the body-horror film The Substance. Crawling out of Demi Moore‘s backside, then diving back in to retrieve a lost shoe, the host set the tone for an exuberant monologue of mostly gentle roasting.

The exception: Emilia Pérez‘s embattled star Karla Sofia Gascon, whose offensive social-media posts had derailed her front-runner status. After joking that Anora‘s 479 f-bombs were only three more than the record set by Gascon’s publicist, he added, “Karla, if you’re going to tweet about the Oscars, remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel.” His only truly topical joke was saved for the third hour, when he acknowledged the Anora juggernaut by reflecting, “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”

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O’Brien also earned big laughs by announcing that instead of playing off long-winded winners, they’d cut instead to Conclave‘s John Lithgow in the audience “looking slightly disappointed.” Cue a classic Lithgow sad face. Sadly, this device was never used, perhaps acknowledging the fact that we at home would soon enough be sighing in dismay as the night dragged on.

On the plus side, just like last year, whenever the presenters took time to personally acknowledge all of the nominees in a category with a tribute, it felt special, with each coming off like a winner regardless of whose name was inside the envelope. Another highlight: the In Memoriam segment taking the high road for a change, focusing on the names and faces, with the Los Angeles Master Chorale providing soulful accompaniment in the background, rarely if ever pulling focus.

My pick for best presenter: 95-year-old June Squibb (who should have been nominated for Thelma), presenting the Makeup and Hairstyling award alongside Scarlett Johansson and revealing, “I’m actually being played by Bill Skarsgård right now.” (Johannson responded by saying she was being played by Andy Serkis.)

Less inspired were the production numbers, typically an Achilles heel at the Oscars. (Just ask Rob Lowe.) O’Brien’s first stumble was ending his monologue with a mock meta musical spoof promising “I won’t waste time” while doing exactly that. While on paper I’m OK with a random song-and-dance James Bond homage featuring star performers (Margaret Qualley, Doja Cat, LISA from Blackpink, Raye — and thanks for the on-screen ID’s or I’d have been clueless) recreating classic theme songs, did “Diamonds Are Forever” have to be one of them? Even more puzzling was building a tribute to Quincy Jones around Queen Latifah‘s energetic rendition of “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz, hardly representative of the “musical genius” Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg had touted.

The impulse to add entertainment value to the show is understandable, but this year it just made a long night even longer. Still, let’s give O’Brien credit where it’s due, when he graciously welcomed the final Best Picture presenters of When Harry Met Sally fame by introducing “the best Oscar host ever: Billy Crystal.”

Those were the days.