The ratings for the 2023 Academy Awards telecast haven’t been released yet, but I’m sure the executives at ABC probably won’t be pleased. Last year’s ceremony drew 16.6 million viewers, an improvement over the dismal 10.5 million who watched the 2021 Oscars, yet still far below the numbers of past ceremonies. That 2021 presentation was a low point for the Academy due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony was held in L.A.s Union Station, a weird venue for an awards show, and many of the nominees were small indie films like Nomadland that no one bothered to see because the movie theatres were shuttered.
The 2022 telecast seemed a return to form, with the show back in the classic Dolby theatre and some big blockbusters in the mix like Dune. But the show was quickly derailed by Will Smith’s great slap heard around the world, attacking Chris Rock for a tasteless joke about his wife. The slap pretty much overshadowed the winners of the show that year. And there was much hand-wringing over what would happen during last night’s show.
So, I was relieved that the 2023 Oscars were a regular, almost routine affair. Nothing out of the box happened, and instead, the focus was kept on the films, along with many heartfelt speeches from the winners. Jimmy Kimmel made for a funny, affable host where he thankfully kept the politics to a minimum (despite a few last-minute zingers), and he kept the show moving at a steady clip. Yes, it was nearly 4 hours long, but reigning in the Oscars at this point is a fool’s errand. Let the Oscars be the Oscars, as the marathon length is part of its charm.
And I was pleased to see that Everything, Everywhere All at Once was the night’s big winner. Honestly, I didn’t think the stuffy Academy had it in them to honor this bizarre, inventive genre movie that broke every rule in the filmmaking book. There were some last-minute rumblings of a Top Gun: Maverick or All Quiet in the Western Front upsets. Even Steve Spielberg had a chance to nab the Best Director prize as a career awards capper. But no, my beloved EEAO took home nearly every major award it was nominated for. And the movie won three of the four acting awards, with Michelle Yeoh, Jaimie Lee Curtis (finally!), and Ke Huy Quan becoming Oscar winners. The only other films that pulled that off were Network and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Hell, if EEAO had Quan in the Best Actor category, it could’ve been one of the “Big Five” Academy Awards winners. Only It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs have managed the rare feat of winning Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress.
The night’s telecast made me reflect on my journey as a longtime Academy Awards viewer. I first became an avowed Oscar superfan in 1990, when the awards telecast became a personal holiday in my orbit. I was a budding cinephile back in those days, working at the local Blockbuster Video and devouring every nominated film. And I loved it all, the glamour, red carpet, and the mix of pretentious and genuine emotional winners. After my big move to Los Angeles, I even started throwing Oscar parties, where the Academy Awards are a big deal.
But after 2010, some of my Oscar love started to fade. Now I settle for watching the annual broadcast with my boyfriend and a few close buddies. We buy snacks, order food & drinks and casually watch the show until the final hour when all the big awards are handed out. Since I live just a few miles from the Dolby Theatre, I get a home’s field advantage. When they close that block of Hollywood Boulevard a whole week before the telecast, it causes all sorts of traffic headaches. And as a West Hollywood resident, I get to witness the drunken merriment at the many glam parties that follow the show.
I think the Academy Awards will have to come to terms with the fact that awards show has lost their cultural relevance. Even the Grammys, Emmys, and Golden Globes have seen steep drops in viewership. The day and age of the Oscars competing with the Superbowl for rating dominance is long gone. A big reason is that movie stars are no longer the currency that fuels the current film industry. People make their theatre selections on genre, IP, or if it’s a sequel to a franchise they enjoy. Yes, streaming is a part of the decline, as most audiences don’t watch live broadcast TV, preferring the convenience of their pre-recorded shows. I applaud the Academy for sticking to their guns and continuing to nominate small, well-made films like Tar for the major nominations. The trade-off is that the general audiences rooting for Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar, or any Marvel film will inevitably tune out.
That’s why it’s a minor miracle that Everything, Everywhere All at Once was the night’s big winner. It’s an entirely original, non-IP, and non-sequel movie that’s such a rarity these days. I remember watching the film last year and not knowing what I was in for, then leaving with the biggest WTF expression on my face.
As a shameless plug, my blog has an Oscar Best Picture section. I started with last year’s winner CODA and have been slowly moving backward. I not only review each film but ask the million-dollar question: Did it deserve to win? They are fun pieces to write, as I often diverge from the Academy’s choice of winners. And isn’t that the whole point of the Oscars? For us cinephiles to endlessly argue over what is the best of the best.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on The Oscars, Chad. I have not watched the ceremonies in several years now, but I absolutely keep up on all the nominations, snubs, hype, etc. I have always had a philosophical problem with rewarding and awarding “bests” to forms of art. The moviegoing experience is so personal to me, intellectually I can’t get my head around saying one film is better than another or one actor is better than another. That being said, I have no issue offering my opinions and welcome opinions from others. For me, EEAO hit the sweet spot for Oscar glory. A “small” film that was playing art houses early on, building on word-of-mouth and being widely accepted by critics and audiences alike, and a movie that was fresh and original…not a rehash, reboot, or sequel. I enjoyed the film immensely, and certainly understand why others did as well.
Hi Bruce. One of my screenwriting buddies detests the Oscars for the reasons you cited. And there is an argument to be had on awarding something the best in a subjective art form like film. As for me, my interest in the Oscars has waned during the last decade, and I watch it now for the spectacle and a celebration of movies. I have nothing invested in who wins or loses, but I love seeing all those movie stars in the same place and giving heartfelt speeches. In the 1990s, I would gladly debate who should win best picture, but now, I just enjoy the show.