From emotional speeches to surprising upsets, here are the Academy Awards moments you'll be talking about tomorrow!
The 90th Annual Academy Awards aired Sunday, with Jimmy Kimmel at the helm for the second time following last year's shocking Best Picture mix-up, and the talented host deftly handled the multitude of political controversies that have rocked Hollywood over the last year, while ushering the show along with quick wit and charm.
The star-studded show was filled with some incredibly close races and a few genuinely surprising upsets, not to mention a slew of emotionally charged acceptance speeches and hilarious moments of touching comedy.
In honor of Hollywood's biggest night, here is a look at some of the best, worst and absolutely weirdest moments from this year's Oscars.
THE BEST
Classic Hollywood Intro
In honor of this Oscar's milestone anniversary, Kimmel kicked the show off in the style of a retro 1940s newsreel. Shot in black-and-white and narrated (by Kimmel) in an old-timey radio voice, he highlighted a few of the night's biggest stars sitting in the audience, including Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek and Lupita Nyong'o, who he introduced by sharing, "She was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya. Let the tweetstorm from the president's toilet begin!"
Kimmel's Politically Charged Intro
Kimmel once again proved his Oscar-hosting chops with his hilarious opening monologue that managed to nudge the envelope with jokes about a spate of awful stories of sexual harassment and abuse of power without offending everyone (a lesson James Corden could have used before hosting the amfAR gala back in October). Kimmel turned his razor-sharp wit toward Oscar himself, explaining, "Oscar is the most beloved and respected man in Hollywood, and there's a good reason. Just look at him. He keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word, and most importantly, no penis at all."
Hellen Mirren Presents a Grand Prize
Kimmel also revealed that, in an attempt to keep the show as short as possible, winners' acceptance speeches would be timed and the person with the shortest speech would win a brand new jet-ski. To prove he was serious, the back of the stage opened to reveal the aquatic prize, as Oscarwinner Helen Mirren stepped out, looking as regal as ever, to serve as a Price Is Right-esque prize model, and she reminded us all what timeless grace really is.
Rita Moreno Proves She's Just the Best
The 86-year-old West Side Story star won in just about every way imaginable at this year's Oscars. She rocked the same dress she was wearing when she earned her Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1962, she appeared to be enjoying quite a few drinks backstage and she was generally just flawless at every turn.
Allison Janney's Great Opening Line
The I, Tonya star took to the stage after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and delivered one of the greatest opening lines of any acceptance speech ever: "I did it all by myself." After the laughter died down, Janney smiled and added, "There's nothing further from the truth," before earnestly thanking her co-stars, friends and family. This was Janney's first nomination and win, but it's still hard not to wish she stuck with her joke and walked off stage after accepting all the credit.
Tiffany Haddish Stuns in Her Favorite Dress
The Girls Trip star presented alongside Maya Rudolph during the Oscars, and she looked absolutely flawless in her gorgeous Alexander McQueen dress. In fact, she's looked flawless in it every time she's worn it, which is quite a lot. Haddish even wore it while hosting Saturday Night Live earlier this season, and explained that she loves the dress because it looks great on her and she bought it herself and she doesn't see any reason not to wear it every chance she gets. It was an absolutely perfect choice for making her debut on the Oscars stage.
'In Memoriam' Honors Late Stars
Eddie Vedder provided the emotional musical accompaniment for this year's "In Memoriam" segment, where he performed a cover of Tom Petty's "Room at the Top" in honor of the late musician. The touching segment celebrated the lives and legacies of such late Hollywood luminaries as Harry Dean Stanton, director George A. Romero, James Bond star Roger Moore, Martin Landau, John Heard, Sam Shepard and Don Rickles, among many others.
Keala Settle Slays 'This Is Me'
The amazing singer delivered a live performance of the Best Original Song nominee "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman, and she brought the entire room to their feet (and to the verge of tears) with the amazing number. The song might not have won the Oscar, but the performance definitely stole the spotlight at the show.
Frances McDormand Takes a Stand
The outspoken actress took home the golden statuette for Best Actress for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and she used her time onstage to make an important statement. McDormand asked every female Oscar nominee in the audience to stand up, and during the emotionally charged demonstration of unity, McDormand asked every executive watching to help female filmmakers and stars tell their stories on the big screen. She then finished her speech with two important words: "Inclusion rider." The term refers to a stipulation in an actor's contract that requires the cast and crew on the films they're acting in to be diverse, or risk losing the star. It was a powerful moment and one that will undoubtedly go down in Oscars history.
THE WORST
The Over-the-Top Ice Palace Set
While the Academy Awards tries something different every year when it comes to its set design, we couldn't help but feel like they were staging a production of Frozen. It looked like Superman's Fortress of Solitude got a glittery makeover, or the inside of a particularly ostentatious geode. Every time someone stood onstage, they looked like they were about to get eaten by a shark that had its teeth replaced with diamonds. It was just too much all the time.
Kimmel Brings Out His 9-year-old Self
In a joke that just fell flat, Kimmel brought out a young kid who was playing himself as a child. The exchange allowed a few funny jokes about how old the host looks (with the kid assuming Kimmel is his 60-year-old future version, when Kimmel is only 50). But given how often he joked about wanting to keep the show moving along, this felt like a very unnecessary bit that took time away from what could have been better moments.
Not Giving BB-8 His Due
Star Wars: The Last Jedi co-stars Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill and Kelly Marie Tran took the stage alongside everyone's favorite rolling droid, but while the three stars had awkward banter that elicited polite laughter (at best), BB-8 was relegated to the sidelines. His adorable beeping would have unfortunately been better than whatever it was we got from the human stars.
THE WEIRDEST
Lakeith Stanfield's Wonderful Awkwardness
In an ongoing effort to keep acceptance speeches short, Kimmel revealed that stars who rambled on too long wouldn't get played off by the orchestra, instead they would get chased off by Stanfield, reprising his unsettling role from Get Out, who ran out from behind the stage dressed in the same wardrobe as his character in the film, madly screaming "Get out!" The bit was hilarious, but the perpetually fascinating Atlanta star elevated the comedy to the next surreal level when he just sort of stayed onstage before slowly walking back behind the set as Kimmel laughed at his deliberate brand of awkwardness. It was a weird moment, but that doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't a strong highlight.
- Jimmy Kimmel Brings Stars to the People
In a reverse of Kimmel's stunt from last year -- when he brought random people from off the street into the Dolby Theatre to meet the night's big stars -- Kimmel filled the theater next door with people who were watching a sneak preview of A Wrinkle in Time, and then surprised them when he brought a cadre of A-listers into the theater to meet them. Margot Robbie, Ansel Elgort, Armie Hammer, Gal Gadot and others were among those who joined in on the fun by passing out movie concessions and firing off hot dog cannons (which are exactly what they sound like) into the overjoyed theater of screaming fans. While there was a certain fun, chaotic energy to the bit, it proved to be far less bizarrely fun than last year's stunt and ended up just feeling like an ill-conceived attempt at being weird for weirdness sake.
'In Memoriam' Snubs
Every year, the Oscars draw heat for the stars they forget (or choose to not include) in their "In Memoriam" segment, and this year was no different. Among the snubs that drew the most viewer anger were actors Powers Boothe, Robert Guillaume, John Hillerman, Adam West, Jim Nabors, John Mahoney, Rose Marie and Jerry Van Dyke, among many others.
RELATED CONTENT:
