Lady Gaga performs onstage during the 87th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California.Kevin Winter—Getty Images
It’s not as if the Oscars didn’t have material to work with. In many ways, 2014 was an interesting and vital year in movies — not just artistically, but in terms of engaging viewers and giving them things to talk about. The end of the year in particular saw movies like American Sniper, Selma — even The Interview — that spurred conversations and controversies and reminded us that movies can have effects beyond their running times. (The same was true of the nominations and omissions.)
The 2015 Oscars broadcast, though, had a hard time capturing that excitement — or anything else. It certainly had a big enough net: the show was 3 hours and 40 minutes long. But as a TV broadcast, it struggled not just with length but tone, trying alternately to be light entertainment and a meaningful statement. Sometimes it was delightfully one, sometimes it was affectingly the other. But often the two collided painfully.
There were high hopes from the beginning, because of host Neil Patrick Harris, generally a delightful stage performer who’s done a reliably terrific job hosting the Tony Awards. And he started off in fine form. His first joke immediately addressed the white elephant in the room: the dearth of minority nominees for this year’s awards: “Tonight we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest — sorry, brightest.” Then he ditched a traditional monologue to do his thing: musical comedy, a rapid-fire, playful celebration of “moving pictures” that was both sweet and funny: “Check out the glamor and glitter/ People tweeting on the Twitter / And no one’s drunk and bitter yet ’cause no one’s lost.”
Sometimes, though, the organism that is the Oscars is bigger than the host, and Harris seemed to lose his grip on it, thanks largely to some badly written material. Several jokes razzing celebs in the audience fell flat, including one that involved getting Selma star David Oyelowo to trash the remake of Annie, which Oyelowo reacted to with a memorable “meh” gesture.
Harris is nothing if not game, but he often seemed disconnected from the limp material. He followed up one winner’s story of her son’s suicide with a dissonant joke about the puffy orbs on her gown: “Takes a lot of balls to wear a dress like that!” (though it’s not clear if he caught the suicide reference before making the joke). But when he had the chance, he rallied, romping through the wings onto the stage in his tighty-whities in a bit that recalled Oscar winner Birdman, and reviving when he had the right material. (“Benedict Cumberbatch,” he said, was “the sound you get when you ask John Travolta to introduce Ben Affleck.”) But then there was the running gag, about Harris’ Oscar predictions having been locked in a box onstage, that ran so long and with so little payoff it could have been redeemed only if the box contained a $10 million check made out in my name.
When the scripted material falters, you hope for the unscripted moments to deliver, and the acceptance speeches often did. It was a year of earnestness, inspiration and exhortation. Patricia Arquette of Boyhood urged pay equality for women. Best Song winner John Legend insisted that “Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now.” Best Adapted Screenplay winner Graham Moore — for The Imitation Game, about British cryptography genius Alan Turing who was persecuted for being gay — recalled considering suicide at age 16, and offered hope to young people feeling the same way. “Stay weird,” he said. “Stay different.”
Oscars 2015: Celebrities on the Red Carpet
Emma Stone attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesScarlett Johansson attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesChris Pratt and Anna Faris attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesJessica Chastain attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesBenedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesChris Pine attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesReese Witherspoon attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesAnna Kendrick attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesRosamund Pike attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesBradley Cooper attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesNeil Patrick Harris, right, and David Burtka attendsthe 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesLupita Nyong'o attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesGwyneth Paltrow attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesEddie Redmayne attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJulianne Moore attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesOprah Winfrey attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesNicole Kidman attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesAmerica Ferrera attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesCate Blanchett attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesMichael Keaton attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesDavid Oyelowo attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJ.K. Simmons attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesZendaya attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJosh Hutcherson attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKevin Hart attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesDakota Johnson attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesMelanie Griffith attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesHans Zimmer attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Ethan Miller—WireImage/Getty ImagesGiuliana Rancic attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesJason Reitman attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty ImagesMargot Robbie attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJoanna Newsom, left, and Andy Samberg attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesCommon attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKarolina Kurkova attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJamie Chung attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesPatricia Arquette attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesMichael Strahan attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Michael Buckner—WireImage/Getty ImagesMario Lopez attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesRyan Seacrest attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesWill i Am attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKelly Osbourne attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesMiles Teller attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesFelicity Jones attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesJohn Stamos attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesNaomi Watts attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesMarion Cotillard attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesAlejandro G. Inarritu attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesGenesis Rodriguez attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesLaura Dern attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesQuestlove attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesChrissy Teigen attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesFaith Hill and Tim McGraw attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty ImagesJohn Legend attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesRita Ora attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesChloe Grace Moretz attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesViola Davis attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesChiwetel Ejiofor attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesKerry Washington attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesSienna Miller attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesAnsel Elgort attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesEd Norton and Shauna Robertson attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesChanning Tatum attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesKeira Knightley attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesJustin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston attend the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty ImagesChris Evans attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesFelicity Jones attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesLady Gaga attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty ImagesJennifer Lopez attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty ImagesSolange Knowles attends the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Jason Merritt—Getty Images
Fittingly for an Oscars that began with a song, it was often the music that salvaged this one. Tegan and Sara with The Lonely Island delivered a joyous, hallucinatory “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie (the performers handing out Lego statuettes that several guests clutched through the ceremony). Lady Gaga performed an incendiary medley from The Sound of Music — seemed like a strange idea, but totally worked — ending with a salute from Julie Andrews, who pronounced “Lady Gaga” as though it were a royal title. And Legend’s performance of “Glory” with Common was the rare Oscar musical number that — with a recreation of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge — managed to reproduce the emotion of the movie onstage.
But Selma was largely outside of the major Oscar running, as was the much-talked-about American Sniper. Much of the night involved jockeying between boutique films like Birdman, Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel — which is no fault of the broadcast but may not have helped with mass viewer engagement. There was also a general lack of momentum to the night — exemplified by staid choices, like having the Best Animated Film nominees represented by still drawings, as opposed to something, well, animated.
In the end, this Oscars was neither brilliant or a disaster; like many Hollywood productions, it was just a long thing that felt put together by committee. There were moving moments and tedious moments — but there were also just tons and tons of moments (and yet, somehow, there wasn’t room in the In Memoriam reel for comedian, actress, writer-director and red-carpet fixture Joan Rivers).
That said, I’d be glad to see the very musical Harris get another shot at hosting the Academy Awards. And there’s nothing wrong with a telecast that plays up all the incredible music that gets written for the movies. But the music was never the problem. This year, it was the orchestration that left something to be desired.
LIFE at the Oscars: Classic Photos From Hollywood's Biggest Night
Elizabeth Taylor walks through a crowd of admirers at the Oscars in 1961 — the year she won her first Academy Award, for her role in BUtterfield 8.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGrace Kelly and Clark Gable arrive at the 26th annual Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theatre in 1954.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesKirk Douglas, elegant in white tie, smiles and waves as he enters the RKO Pantages Theatre in 1954.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesTelevision actress Sandra White laughs while arriving late at the 1953 Academy Awards.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesHumphrey Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall arrive at the 27th annual Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theater in 1955.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNatalie Wood, Best Actress nominee for her role as Deanie Loomis in Splendor in the Grass, gets her hair done prior to the 1962 Academy Awards.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresenters Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly wait backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre during the 1956 Academy Awards.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJohn Wayne (whose image is being projected on the huge screen) accepts the Best Director Oscar from Olivia DeHavillan for an absent John Ford during the 25th annual Academy Awards in 1953 — the first year the ceremony was televised.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesThe great, inimitable Charlie Chaplin — who had been living in self-imposed exile in Switzerland for two decades — blows a kiss to the crowd while accepting an honorary Oscar in 1972 for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century." When he was introduced to the audience, Chaplin received a 12-minute standing ovation.Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNatalie Wood and Warren Beatty, co-stars in the Elia Kazan-directed romantic drama, Splendor in the Grass, attend the 1962 Academy Awards.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAt the 1942 Academy Awards, Joan Fontaine gazes at the Best Actress Oscar she won for her role in Suspicion — an achievement that made her, incredibly, the only actor or actress to ever win an Oscar for a performance in an Alfred Hitchcock film.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesThe one and only Audrey Hepburn cradles the Oscar she won for her role in Roman Holiday.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJohn Wayne holds Oscars for Gary Cooper and John Ford (Best Actor for High Noon) and Best Director for The Quiet Man, respectively) backstage at the 25th Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, 1953.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAcademy Award-winner Olivia de Havilland (The Heiress) and dapper presenter Jimmy Stewart at the 22nd Academy Awards, 1949.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPhotographers snap their cameras Oscar winners Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight) and Bing Crosby (Going My Way) at the 1945 Academy Awards. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresenters Ginger Rogers and George Murphy dance together while holding an Oscar backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre in 1950.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarlon Brando (right, with French singer and actress Line Renaud) casually holds his Best Actor Oscar for On The Waterfront at the 1955 Academy Awards at the RKO Pantages Theatre.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJoanne Woodward dances with her husband, Paul Newman, at the Governor's Ball following the Academy Awards where she won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Three Faces of Eve.J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFrank Sinatra and Donna Reed hold their Oscars as Best Supporting Actor and Actress in From Here to Eternity — a film that won eight statuettes in 1954, including Best Picture.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesProducer Buddy Adler's Academy Award for From Here to Eternity stands amid hats in the coat check room at Romanoff's restaurant in Beverly Hills during an Oscars after-party in 1954.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images