Oscars 2025: Predictable Wins, Odd Speeches, and Flying Gum

This past Sunday I begrudgingly tuned in to watch the Academy Awards with my sister, a tradition we have upheld since 2020. However, by the end of the night, I simply turned off the TV and went to bed; there was no discussion or celebration, we just said our goodbyes. The sense of excitement I felt when Cillian Murphy won Best Actor last year or when “Parasite” won Best Picture in 2020 was absent. Despite Conan O’Brien’s attempts to keep the show interesting, I can only really remember Best Actor winner Adrien Brody’s trainwreck of an acceptance speech.

This year’s ceremony was hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien, who was a major reason why I wanted to watch. While he fared well for his first year hosting, his appearances did become more scarce as the show went on. His monologues were relatively safe and inoffensive although he did reference Karla Sofía Gascón’s controversial tweets. Although there may have been some jokes that didn’t land for everyone, Conan still had much more charisma than Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the previous two ceremonies.

In true Oscars fashion, there were several bizarre choices made throughout the night, particularly in the In Memoriam section. Mozart’s Lacrimosa from Requiem was played during the segment, a piece that is not only far too ominous to be used to remember industry members who have passed, but also difficult to take seriously. As usual, there were several notable people missing from the slideshow, but the Academy has always been vague about how they choose who is included. It may be impossible to commemorate everyone who has passed within the show’s allotted time, it would have made more sense to omit the James Bond tribute and focus more on the creatives who have passed.

Now, on to the many odd speeches that were made throughout the night. The show began with Kieran Culkin predictably winning Supporting Actor for his performance in A Real Pain. While I usually find his offbeat humor amusing, he repeated the same unsettling joke he made at the Emmys last year about his wife “owing” him more kids after he wins an Oscar. And then, Camille, one of the songwriters for the infamous Emilia Perez, started (poorly) singing at the end of her acceptance speech for Original Song alongside Clémont Ducol and Jacques Audiard. Another uncomfortable moment occurred in the Oscars press room following Zoe Saldaña’s win for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Perez when a Mexican reporter asked her about the fact that Mexican audiences found the film “hurtful,” believing that it mishandled the topic of organized crime in Mexico. While Saldaña initially apologized, she went on to defend the film, stating that “The heart of this movie was not Mexico. We weren’t making a film about a country.” 

However, the most baffling speech came from Adrien Brody as he accepted the Best Actor award for his performance in The Brutalist. Before going on stage, the actor spit out his chewing gum and threw it to his partner, Georgina Chapman. He then proceeded to talk for five minutes and 40 seconds, thus breaking the record for the longest acceptance speech in Oscars history. Halfway through the speech, music started playing over Brody, but he refused to get off the stage and said, “Turn the music off! I’ve done this before.” This statement referenced his speech for his first Oscar win for Roman’s Polanski’s The Pianist in 2003, in which he was also interrupted by music and he responded by saying, “One second, please. One second. Cut it out.” Although he insisted on continuing to speak, he really did not say much of anything; the speech primarily consisted of Brody talking about himself, some thank-yous, a lot of long breathes and “uhhhs,” and a few vague comments about war and systemic oppression within the last minute. 

Anora ended up being the big winner of the night, however, as it won a total of five awards, including Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role for Mikey Madison and Director, Editing, and Original Screenplay for Sean Baker.  25-year-old Madisonover ‘s win over 62-year old Demi Moore (who was predicted by many to win for her performance in The Substance) has already generated discourse on whether the Academy has a preference for awarding younger actresses. 

While this year’s ceremony saw an increase in viewership and ratings from last year, the question of whether the Oscars is still a culturally relevant event is perhaps more poignant than ever. In an age where attention spans are dwindling and streaming platforms have replaced cable television and movie theaters, most people have likely never seen or even heard of most of the Best Picture nominees this year. Although I enjoy watching the Academy Awards, I must admit that it serves a glamorous, romantic image of Hollywood that died quite some time ago. And as the world becomes more chaotic, there are simply more important things to care about than an award show for the egregiously wealthy.