Although the numbers watching the Oscars telecast has been inching upward these past few years, remember that more than 25 years ago, 57 million folks tuned in. Now it’s just a bit more than 20 million. Many reasons for that, but that’s for another time.

Let’s take a quick look at the results and the show itself:

THE AWARDS

One Battle After Another unsurprisingly took home awards for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor, to name a few. History will show that this wasn’t the best film, and that at on the artistic side, Sinners should have won. Director Paul Thomas Anderson finally got his Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Director, as well as winning as one of the film’s producers. But he should have won this—and the film as well—for the 2007 There Will be Blood. I loved No Country for Old Men and applauded its Best Picture win when it happened, but on retrospect, There Will be Blood is the finer picture. But I’m glad to see PTA finally get an Academy Award. And it was historic to see the first female cinematographer win for that film, the very talented Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

Note: One Battle is expected to lose about $100 million. That suggests a lot of things, none of which will be posited here. Sinners broke well into the black, and F1 made twice that, becoming the most financially successful films among the nominees. Things that might make one go “hmmmm…”

Other thoughts: The Amy Madigan win for Weapons (Best Supporting Actress) was not unexpected and started off the show with good deal of humor and energy. Best Actress Jesse Buckley (Hamnet) finally got the ultimate prize after winning nearly everything else this season. Her tender tribute to motherhood stood in sharp contrast to Michelle Williams’ win at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards, where she extolled the joy of being able to destroy her children in the womb before they became a life-and-career-changing inconvenience.

The Timothée Chalamet issue was settled once and for all with the win for the much more liked Michael B. Jordan. Jordan is great and was excellent in that film, but I think Chalamet should have won—as he should have won for his previous two nominations.

Best Supporting Actor went to Sean Penn, a difficult and divisive actor playing a difficult and divisive character. Yes, the role in One Battle was flashy and it (unnecessarily) burned a hole through the film, but all things considered, I wish anyone else had won.

There were no undeserving winners in the rest of the categories, and the tie for Best Live Action Short Film (The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva) added some spice and energy to the show.

THE SHOW

I can’t understand the praise for host Conan O’Brien. He wasn’t particularly funny, his opening went far too long, and he demeanor and comments as the show went on were a bit off. The inane chatter continued throughout while pairing up some celebs, which was usually awkward, unfunny, off-putting and even embarrassing. When two talented folks went up to the mike and clearly respected one another and the moment, briefly connecting one with the other, the show showed intelligence and grace.

Of course, it was all too long. The Academy made the smart decision to not play out all five song nominees, which was a relief. But Best Song winner “Golden “was cut too short. At least the “I Lied to You” segment from Sinners was given a chance to be played out and was performed beautifully.

The show’s various “bits” were mixed. The Bridesmaids and The Devil Wears Prada bits were humorous and genuine (the former going on too long, however). but most of the banter between presenters was painful, and TBH, kinda stupid. (Note: I’d be happy to do some of that writing….) Any delving into film presentations or film history is always welcome. The show could use so much more of this. The undergarment theme of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans bit was tactless, and Adrian Brody couldn’t pull off a self-satire that should have been easy to pull off.

The In Memoriam Sequence is always one of my favorites, and the decision to occasionally include two folks on a screen instead of one made sense. This year was particularly painful with the loss of Rob Reiner, Robert Redford, Catherine O’Hara, and Diane Keaton. But (he wrote in a no-win observation), the tributes were heartfelt but too long and slowed the show down too much. And why were James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Brigitte Bardot, and Bud Cort left off? Yes, choices must be made, but I would love to know what thinking went in to making those choices.

And I write this with sadness and regret: Barbra (Streisand), please don’t sing live anymore. You can’t pull off the runs and the vibrato is really getting up there. Don’t ruin our memories of The Way You Were.

So…let’s keep starting the show at 7:00, let’s move it to an earlier day on the calendar, let’s continue to pay more attention to non-stupid tricks, bits, and banter. And please, let’s do some rethinking of how and when to shut off the sound of the winners. As a viewer, I really don’t need to hear three people take the mike for one award, but on the other hand, the time the producers might feel the winners are taking up could be easily balanced by major slimming measures in the rest of the show.