For the second year in a row, the Oscars sans host seems like a bad idea. Instead of someone who sets the tone for the entire show and keeps things lighthearted and brisk, we got voiceovers that introduced presenters, who then introduced other presenters, who then announced the nominees and winners. Much emphasis was laid on feminism (we got told that Eimear Nooneis was the first woman to lead the orchestra in the history of the Oscars, Natalie Portman's coat was embroidered with the names of women snubbed in the Best Director category) and environmental sustainability (Greta Thunberg popped up in a clip celebrating the art of documentary filmmaking, Joaquin Phoenix's Best Actor acceptance speech took a sharp detour towards…cows being artificially inseminated). In a night when some of the speeches seemed to ramble and the Best Song performances lacked sparkle, here are some of the standout moments this Oscars:
Bong Joon-Ho walking away with 4 Oscars
Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho made history with wins for Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Director. If him speaking about his plans to get drunker and drunker after the ceremony with each successive win wasn't endearing enough, he also made sure to give a heartfelt shout out his fellow Best Director nominees. In a 'Cady Heron breaking up her prom crown in Mean Girls' move, he said he wished he had a chainsaw so he could cut his Oscar into five parts and share it with them.
Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph making a strong case for why they should host
At no time was the absence of an Oscars host felt more acutely than when Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph took to the stage as presenters, showing off their dramatic acting chops, joking about having to rush off to a doctor's appointment and launching into an acapella medley to celebrate the Best Costume Design nominees.
Twitter collectively realizing Roger Deakins is hot
Roger Deakins: 15-time Oscar nominee, 2-time Oscar winner and…collective Twitter thirst trap? The 70-year-old's Best Cinematography acceptance speech for 1917 was not only moving – he even thanked his focus puller for a job many fail to notice when done well – but also spurred a ton of tweets acknowledging his charm. Here are some of the best ones:
Utkarsh Ambudkar's rap
Two-thirds of the way into the ceremony, Pitch Perfect and The Mindy Project actor Utkarsh Ambudkar broke out into a freestyle rap that included a fun reference to Laura Dern's win for Best Supporting Actress ("They gave Admiral Holdo a statue!") and a dig at #OscarsSoWhite ("winners who don't look like me"). That Ambudkar had no way of knowing who the winners were beforehand made his performance even more impressive.
Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' performance
Look who's back, back again. Shady's back, tell a friend. Eighteen years after 8 Mile song 'Lose Yourself' became the first rap song to be nominated for, and win, Best Original Song, rapper Eminem turned up to perform it at this year's Oscars. Even awkward cutaways to celebrities attempting to headbang in sync and Idina Menzel looking perplexed couldn't dampen the energy of his set.