RE: I did not watch the ceremony, as I have zero interest in listening to Jimmy Kimmel spew liberal bullshit every time he opened his pie-hole.
He was actually quite tame yesterday, keeping politics to a minimum. He even added a subtle dig at Joe and Hunter Biden.
Even his jokes about last year’s “SLAP” by Will Smith was quite funny and tasteful.
Over all, I think yesterday’s show, although quite long and should have been cut by about half an hour, is a slow return to the traditional Oscars people use to watch about 30 years ago.
"last year’s “SLAP” by Will Smith"
Agreed. They tightened up considerably. The show still runs long, but that is mostly because of all Oscars given in the supporting crafts. There was some discussion in the last couple of years about shortening the show by splitting the "minor" awards off and presenting them at another, non-televised dinner. (Didn't they try that for a year or two?) All the people in the technical fields set up a ruckus and the Oscars shifted back to the more inclusive format. That was the right call, IMHO. Yes, casual viewers like us are only interested in Best Picture, Best Director and the Acting awards, but it's the worker bees in the technical fields behind the camera who actually make "movie magic." Take them away and movies are nothing more than stage plays. Let the worker bees share the spotlight at least for one evening. YMMV.
It seems obvious that the whip was cracked and everyone was told to straighten up and fly right. Speeches were short and to the point. They did a pretty good job of staying out of politics. Attendees were generally well dressed and well behaved. There was no freakshow nonsense on display. I have still never watched an awards show on tv, and I would not dream of sitting in front of my tv for three hours to watch something like last night's Oscars. But since I did have a couple of rooting interests, it was easy enough to stream the show in a separate window, reduced in size, and check back in when something of interest to me came along.
How much longer the Oscars will be televised is an open question. I wouldn't be surprised if it moves to streaming-only in the near future.