Where does one even begin with Oscar night 2022? Well, the obvious place is with the now infamous exchange that went down between Will Smith and Chris Rock after the latter made one of the lamest jokes of his career. So lame, in fact, that Smith probably should have just let it slide. After all, if you’re going to risk being cancelled in this climate, it might as well be in the name of defending your wife for a slightly more scandalizing joke.
Unfortunately, it was a nadir of self-expression (now matched only by that other infamous slap from The Real World: Seattle) that outshined the true moment of the night, which was CODA’s sweep of all three of its nominations, including Best Picture. Momentous not just because it was the first film starring mostly deaf actors to do so, but also the first film distributed by a streaming service to win the honor (it feels pointed on The Academy’s part that they should anoint Apple TV as the one to break that ground rather than Netflix). Or what would have been an honor were it not for Will Smith pretty much debasing the whole environment with his outburst.
Not only did it overshadow CODA and just about everything else, but also Questlove’s win in the Best Documentary category (which is what Chris Rock had come onstage to present) for Summer of Soul. Shit, Smith even made everyone forget all about Beyoncé’s epic opening performance (a triumph in tennis ball neon green against the backdrop of a Compton court—a nod to the Williams’ sisters) for “Be Alive.” A performance, in fact, that should have retroactively made her win the award for Best Original Song (even though “No Time to Die” is better, Billie Eilish just ain’t got the showmanship like Bey). Or even help to mitigate the tarnishment of King Richard as a result of Smith sort of shrugging off the scuffle as part of him identifying a little too much with Richard Williams. Instead of, you know, just outright apologizing. Which he only did to The Academy, not Rock.
The six degrees of separation drama that King Richard seems to invoke also tied back to Jane Campion winning, yet again, for Best Director. Having already made a fool of herself at the Critics’ Choice Awards for declaring, apropos of nothing, “Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys like I have to.” Although Venus appeared to laugh along, it was a laugh that bore the look of pain. Forced to accept, once again, white people having no concept of their privilege. Maybe Campion felt, after issuing an apology in the wake of that backlash, that she would say it best by saying nothing at all. A.k.a. not even trying to make a joke about her last botched acceptance speech as she took the stage again (what with The Academy essentially mimicking the same winner picks as the Critics’ Choice Awards).
And, evidently, no words from any one celebrity were even needed to offend as whoever was in charge of soundtracking the Oscars decided it would be prudent to play “Africa” as Daniel Kaluuya and H.E.R. took the stage… and then “La Isla Bonita” when Stephanie Beatriz came out to present. This interpretation of how best to emphasize “ethnicity” was quite cringe, especially when done back-to-back. And then there was Rachel Zegler coming out to “Beggin’”—a seeming dig at how she “complained” about not being invited in the first place. To that point, in 2016, Rock couldn’t see fit to “keep Jada’s name out his fuckin’ mouth” when he noted, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!” A barb Smith clearly held onto after all these years.
The careful selections of the nominations and winners on the part of The Academy were all part of a larger bid to ensure inclusivity, complete with the co-hosts: Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer… all of whom ultimately fell short. Seeming to have no control over the show, or much of a rapport with the audience.
Elsewhere, the full-tilt snubbing of Licorice Pizza for any wins felt like lily-liveredness on The Academy’s part, not wanting to touch the subject of “pedophilia,” even if it was a woman pursuing a younger man for once. And, speaking of pedophilia, Amy Schumer also made a well-worn joke about Leonardo DiCaprio’s penchant for dating younger women. Yet one will note that he did not get up out of his seat and slap her. On a side note, the only thing that has spared Smith from being truly cancelled was that he didn’t slap a white celebrity. That would have really caused a scene now, wouldn’t it?
In between the high moments of drama, few could find time to ask: should Best Original Screenplay really be Belfast? Or: should Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture really have been CODA? Probably not. One can see it eventually becoming on par with Crash or Green Book in terms of being a political placation. In truth, Nightmare Alley, Licorice Pizza or Drive My Car deserved the honor. And yet, if Drive My Car could be nominated as Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Picture) and Best Picture, then È Stata la Mano di Dio ought to have been given the same courtesy. The other Italian snub included Encanto winning over Luca. But, at the very least, Italians were done some amount of justice by House of Gucci not winning for the one award it was nominated for: Best Makeup and Hairstyling. As if.
That honor instead went rightly to The Eyes of Tammy Faye. And yes, Jessica Chastain proved to be the classiest person of the night in all ways. As though the very spirit of Tammy Faye’s beneficence possessed her. What wasn’t classy, however, was Regina Hall coming out dressed as Tammy Faye and telling her co-hosts, “I always wanted to play a crazy white lady.” Has Hollywood learned nothing from mocking so-called “crazy” people? Especially women (and more especially, women with bald heads). Evidently not, as the Will Smith memes spurred by Rock’s joke over a buzz cut will be trickling in for decades.
