2017 Oscars: Best and Worst Moments
The gaffe surrounding Moonlight's win for Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars pretty much signaled the tone of the show — it was a lot of good wrapped in a bunch of bad.
The ceremony, which included wins from Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Mahershala Ali, included beautifully political speeches, heartfelt moments from first-time winners and — who could forget — bucketfuls of candy falling from the sky. But then, of course, Suicide Squad won an Oscar, so the good vibes were frequently shot to hell.
Look back at some of the best and worst of the 2017 Oscars — hosted by Jimmy Kimmel — below.
BEST MOMENTS:
Viola Davis' speech: As many rightfully observed on Twitter, Davis' speech — which followed her win for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Fences — deserved its own trophy. She began with a line for the books "There’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place. And that’s the graveyard," and the magic just kept coming.
The Salesman sentiment: Asghar Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Film for The Salesman, but boycotted in light of President Trump's travel ban. So, astronaut and engineer Anousheh Ansari accepted in his place, and dutifully pointed out Farhadi's thoughts: "My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and the other six countries that have been disrespected by the inhuman law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. dividing the world into the 'us' and 'our enemies' category creates fear."
Moonlight wins...with a little complication: That disastrous presentation aside, Moonlight's victory was a fantastic achievement, and its win signaled hope for artists of color, varying sexualities and anyone whose life story was something darker or more complicated than the wistful La La Land's plot line.
Sunny Pawar is adorable in perpetuity: A show that got so political needed a little levity, and Lion's Sunny Pawar definitely brought the endearment. It was all good until Kimmel lifted Pawar into the sky like Simba from The Lion King, at which point the production took a bit of a left turn.
Jimmy Kimmel trolls Matt Damon: Is the affected feud trite and a little boring? Sure. We're all pretty sick of it, but watching Damon flinch was still pretty damn entertaining.
WORST MOMENTS:
Warren Beatty + Best Picture screw up: A movie that was as progressive and meaningful as Moonlight deserved better treatment, and it doesn't matter who screwed it up — someone wasn't careful enough. Yes, it still got top honors, but the presentation felt like The Oscars was still somehow putting black artists at a deficit.
Suicide Squad somehow wins an Oscar: Yup, the film with a less than 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes now holds an Oscar, while some of Hollywood's most talented artists are still waiting on their moments in the sun.
Emma Stone's eh win: Nobody doesn't like Emma Stone, and she was great in La La Land, but for a category otherwise occupied by Natalie Portman, Isabelle Huppert and Ruth Negga, her victory sort of seemed like a wasted opportunity — especially where her speech was concerned. As NBC News pointed out, she wore a pin in support of Planned Parenthood, but didn't mention it once...or mention anything of gravity at all.
Casey Affleck wins for Actor in a Lead Role: Was Affleck great in Manchester by the Sea? Of course he was, but that's not really the point. That two women accused Affleck in 2010 of sexual assault should have been some sort of disqualifier, and many of Affleck's fellow actors seemed to agree — they weren't thrilled with his win.
Jimmy Kimmel makes fun of non-Anglo names: Oscars: No longer so white, but where this skit was concerned, it kind of made it seem like Kimmel wished they were.
2017 Oscars Best Dressed: