Thanks to Lady Gaga, Malibu didn’t leave the Dolby Theater completely emptyhanded at the Oscars this year. The music sensation, decked out in a classic black satin gown, crooned out a moving rendition of “Shallow” from “A Star is Born.” She was joined at the piano with her talented co-star Bradley Cooper. It was a performance that left the crowd on its feet. Lady G also took home a spate of previous awards this season, including a BAFTA and Golden Globe.
As Malibu Seen predicted this week, there was no runaway winner, no Titanic-style James Cameron with armloads of statuettes. It was just a very diverse group of (mostly) good films, cherry picked and rewarded for their best bits. “Green Book” (my personal favorite) did indeed win best picture; veteran local Sam Elliott lost to Mahershala Ali for “Green Book;” while Dick Van Dyke’s “Mary Poppins Returns” lost out in many technical categories like score and production design.
But, rest assured, this was one of the most varied telecasts in years. From Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” to Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” chances are one of your favorites came home with something. As forecast, Rami Malek won best actor for his uncanny performance as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “Vice” took a load of work to turn Christian Bale into a pudgier Dick Cheney, requiring four hours of body blubber, and deservedly won best hair and makeup. Turning Rami into Freddie wasn’t easy either, requiring a new set of custom made “bad teeth” prosthetics, and specially designed wire chest hair and mustache, plus who knows how many hours he put in to transform his body. Seen has learned that the underarm hair was the real deal.
The big shocker of the night came down to Best Actress. Seven-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close won almost all previous awards this season for “The Wife,” with Lady G viewed as a close second. The winning ballot went to neither. Olivia Colman picked up the prize for a bizarre love triangle affair called “The Favourite.”
So, good or bad, this year’s academy was definitely different and diverse. No longer what one critic called “bad fun,” with “good-looking people giving awards out to good-looking people who portray more good-looking people.”
Except for a few ingrates who will not be named, Seen found this to be one of the best Oscars in years. Got it? Good. Until next year. See you at the movies!