Without Joan Rivers, it's an absolute bore. She wasn't mean to the celebrities; she asked them actually interesting questions.
It's just not worth watching.
7
The Oscars just prove even more that Hollywood is literally another planet. The things they value, the weird pomp and circumstance, and the desperate seriousness wrapped in the ridiculous makes me feel like I’m watching a space zoo that has humans as the main feature.
5
The 2019 Oscars Red Carpet: Halloween came early this year!
1
Boring and irrelevant. Lots and lots of B listers wearing very odd clothing. Where were the greats like Julia Roberts or even Tom Cruise? Home watching something else, I am sure. I guess the Oscars must be important becausw Kendall Jenner showed up more or less naked and a man wore a taffeta gown? I personally had never heard of Billy Porter but I will remember him now. Sort of like getting to know more about Jussie Smollett who I had also never heard of.
Boring and irrelevant.
5
Some of the Oscar dresses were so ugly it's hard to figure out what the people wearing them could have been thinking. Many of the stick thin actresses looked fat in them. When Melissa McCarthy came out in her designer spoof outfit, the joke might have been lost had it not been for the bunnies on her train with all the competition she had from the serious fashionistas loaded down with layers of fabric, capes, trains and shoulder bows the size of large dogs. Sometimes I think designers secretly hate women when I see these monstrosities. Look in a mirror ladies!
2
Hasn't anyone informed these clueless "gentlemen" to remove their hats when indoors? It ain't raining, and the sun ain't shining, so ditch the hats.
5
Look! Perhaps I'm disadvantaged because I've lived too long. That said....I have difficulty seeing Clark Gable, or Jimmy Stewart, or Cary Grant, or Tom Hanks in a Billy Porter gown. Perhaps Porter views his attire as a 'statement'...I see it as a hunt for publicity shock value.
4
Did I love the whole thing? Of course not. But I did enjoy many aspects of it. Most of the movies I hadn't seen and some I never heard of. But the ones I did see: Vice, Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther ... I was interested to see the actors and directors of those movies and it was fun to root for favorites. I tape the show and tune in half way through. That way I can speed through the parts I don't care about. Was some of it boring and pompous? Sure! But you don't have to watch that part if you don't want to. I don't know why after every award show people feel compelled to complain and whine about Hollywood
patting themselves on the back." So what! The whole show is just an extension of the movies themselves. Its just entertainment.
4
What a wild, fun, diverse and witty reflection of all of America, except of course for straight white men, who were excluded
1
Yes, escapism and glamour, but in this day and age do women really need to put themselves in outfits they can’t walk in (I saw two actresses stumble going up a couple of stairs to get their awards) or ride in a car (can you drive with a five-foot train, or a starched three foot bow stuck on your back)? Olivia Colman looked like she couldn’t figure out how her wraparound bow was supposed to be positioned when she got out of her chair. Are princesses the role models we need today?
Yay to the women in suits. Self-sufficient and professional, not posed sideways pouting for the camera in a plunging neckline. Bring back Dietrich and Le Smoking. You can be stylish and alluring without being a dependent accessory.
Alternately, get all that assembled beefcake out of those dull tuxedoes. Brown instead of black is not a fashion statement, it’s a sign of the constraints you’ve accepted.
Gendered parity: more male creativity and sexualization, or more women as personalities rather than creations judged on appearance.
1
Octavia Spenser simply looked incredible in that gown. What a beautiful woman. She just sparkled with that smile of hers.
I hate it when a man looks better in a dress and ensemble that I ever could. Billy Porter was so dashing and elegant in that Christian Siriano selection.
8
Why do we pay attention to this industry awards event? Do any of these people pay attention to my industry awards?
3
The columnist missed the opportunity to point out that at least two of the featured dresses had pockets-- Gemma Chan & Glenn Close, though I can't tell from the pictures if Ms. Close's pockets were functional. I think Mr. Porter's dress had real pockets as well.
That's real fashion innovation!
3
Serena Williams looked so elegant. And Trevor Noah - he has dimples to die for. He'd look great in anything.
2
Oscars so overated, the actors are barely talented and this just a fashion show.
1
Look the photo of Melissa McCarthy and Glenn Close. They look like they are having fun!
3
As Edna Mode said in The Incredibles, "No capes!"
2
I imagine Mr. Porter feels bold, individualized, "dressed to kill." In fact, he does commit a kind of murder, let us call it sartorial manslaughter . I imagine my reaction would be different if he didn't look like he has a chainsaw up his spine! What was anyone thinking? Anyone! Do you know the worst part? He looks like one of those cardboard cut-outs with a hole for you to place your face into and take your picture with: Just pop off his head and hands and stand in his place! If you're a man and you want to wear a "gown," you better well be able to "throw down," in every way. In other words, if it's, "WHAT!?!" you've failed. If it's, "OH, WOW! OH, MY!" You've succeeded.
"WHAT!?!"
2
Cash can buy many things but taste and class take much more than just money . . . I wonder how many red carpeter's look back at what they were wearing a few yrs after these events and ask themselves . . ."what was I thinking"
2
Is a man in a dress supposed to be normal?
2
@RP Smith NO! It's literally the opposite of normal. It's intended to challenge norms; it's utterly harmless, and he also looks good!
If you find it problematic - guess whose problem it is?!
7
Why is that man wearing a dress?
7
Why not a man in a dress? We don't think Kilts are unusual, we don't think sarong's in Southeast Asia on men are unusual. Styles change, he looked fabulous, clearly making a statement about people's perception using just clothes as opposed to what is inside the person. I thought he looked fabulous, and I had no idea who he was.
4
I've been watching the Oscars for the better part of thirty years. It has probably reached its nadir.
3
I was curious how the Oscars were going to go without a host, and was actually pleasantly surprised. I felt like there were less gimmicks/bits and it was more streamlined. I also watched it about an hour behind on DVR and skipped the commercials. It ended about the same time. An HOUR of commercials!!
4
If Gone with Wind is produced today it will never be nominated to any Oscars. What a difference between 1939 to 2019. I watched Gone with Wind in 1940 while I was in Hong Kong and I really enjoyed it even I didn't understand the story but I like the movie stars and beautiful dresses. Today the skin color is more important than acting and performances.
7
@Mclean4 If it were really true that "today skin color is more important than acting and performances," then there would be more people of color in film. Put another way, skin color has indeed been critical in casting practices since the inception of film, i.e., generally speaking, people from one race were hired to play important roles. Regardless, it seems to me that Gone with the Wind wouldn't win today because our standards for performance are actually higher.
8
I was so enjoying reading through the comments and then there it was. Someone invoked the name of the President. The one place that he should not be. He was not nominated for any movies. I wonder how much therapy some of us Americans will need when when its all over. God Bless America. God Bless Us All.
13
@Mark
To be fair, he was up before 7 am today to tweet out his displeasure at Spike Lee for a so-called "racist hit". Even though Spike never mentioned him nor racism.
Don't know how to avoid him. He injects himself into everything.
2
Loved the Oscars this year especially. Why not talk about Mexico..Why not talk about people's choices and how they impact our society, why not talk politics, why not show certain movie's stories, and how these movies represent our culture present and past. This was a time to speak out the truisms of our country. I applaud the truth and it was shown to be alive and well at the Oscars.
6
The Oscars are all about Hollywood patting itself on the back for being so wonderful. I wouldn't waste my time watching but I did look at the Red Carpet pictures featured. There were some very elegant gowns and some very outrageous ones. Fun to see what the actors think makes them look glamorous.
13
I semi-watched this year's show in a bar that had the TV muted, with closed-captioning in a foreign language I don't understand.
Highly recommend. My best Oscar-semi-watching experience in years.
Paid full attention only once, wincing at the sight of Spike Lee's off-putting hat.
4
@AX
I was going to give your comment the thumbs up (here it's shown the night AFTER the oscars, rather than at 2:00 am) but then I got to the Spike Lee comment.
No, way! He was totally rocking that purple look! And - the fact that he PAID for the hat makes it even that much better!!!!
:-}
.
3
"Vanity of vanities, and all vanity". Men exhibiting their physique and women as curvaceous, partly nude seductresses -- of what use are they? The money spent on Oscars every year might have been used to a better end on something else.
22
Melissa McCarthy. Octavia Spencer. Queen Latifah. Ashley Graham. How is it that any guest of the Oscars who's not stick thin doesn't have the designer of her dress identified?
18
@Susan
Melissa McCarthy wore Brandon Maxwell. Octavia Spencer often relies on Tadashi Shoji (though I'm not sure whose design she wore on Sunday). Attendees don't always identify the designers of their outfits.
Historically women who are larger than a sample size have not been showered with offers from designers to wear their wares. That is rapidly changing, though. Christian Siriano, who designed Billy Porter's tuxedo gown, has wisely and beautifully dressed famous women of all sizes and has become quite a force in the industry.
15
I don't care for the capes on the women or the taffeta skirts on the guys.
14
I do not miss Joan Rivers at this particular event. She made a lot of money by being catty and mean on national tv. I don’t think she would have adapted well to #MeToo.
20
@SharonNYC Agreed. The worst part is that her behavior was normalized. good riddens!
1
@SharonNYC She was not catty - she was truthful, and tried to elicit meaningful remarks out of the celebs while being funny. She did not insult people on the red carpet. Can you imagine how much fun she would have had with the guy in the dress, without being homophobic?
1
@Felice Robinson You're complaining about someone being "catty" -- while writing "good riddance" about a deceased woman. I am just pointing that out.
4
The Red Carpet was always my least favorite part of the Oscars - the cutting remarks were cruel and unnecessary. How nice that the attendees can enter the venue without the ugly commentators taking something from each and every person on their way in.
6
Considering what's walking down high fashion runways these days, honestly, what's walking award show red carpets looks, for the most part, pretty conservative if not old school. Much of what I saw last night could have walked the Oscar red carpet 15 years ago and hardly looked out of place or time. Billy Porter was probably the only real news on the fashion front. And he looked smashing.
15
Ok, the ladies clean up pretty good. The gents, too. But the movies for the most part ("Roma" the exception) were a bore and just not very good - "A Star is Born" was downright embarrassing - so it's not hard to see why the ratings are collapsing. And 10 nominated films? Come on! There weren't ten outstanding movies all year! But let's face it. The real problem is there are no Elizabeth Taylor's anymore. The Real Stars are gone, and try as she will, Gaga ain't gonna take up the slack. Jennifer Lawrence gave things a little adrenaline boost, but maybe the era when movies mattered is over. Whatever the reason, it sure isn't what it used to be.
23
Who cares about the awards show or its pre-game, both of which have become nearly as bloated and over-hyped as the Super Bowl? I'd rather watch Lassie re-runs.
16
Meh. The Academy Awards used to be exciting because you could glimpse the old elegance of Hollywood and big movie stars. Now the really big stars don't even show up. They ignore older, classic stars completely, in favor of very young no-names. In other words, the show has become gimmicky and the red carpet is also uninteresting. I no longer watch. And p.s.: Why is a man who chose to wear a dress such a big deal? Who cares?
26
@atb Space calling, space calling! Come on into the 21st century!!
2
the reason why it's such a big deal for THAT man to wear THAT dress is because he looks amazing. Elegant, confident, and a delicious mix of overstatement and understatement.. that's what the red carpet is all about!
2
@atb He was doing it to honor Hector Xtravaganza, who was a ballroom icon. Hector had passed away recently, like a month ago I think. And the designer was a Project Runway finalist, so folks notice.
2
It's one thing for the stars to wear beautiful clothes to the Oscars. It's another thing for the stars (e.g. Spike Lee, Melissa McCarthy) to wear clothes that have one message: LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! There's so much narcissism in these outfits you would think that they were designed by Donald Trump himself.
10
@Jay Orchard: I thought Spike Lee's outfit was awesome.
3
@Jay Orchard
Self-promotion is part of the DNA of the film industry and certainly of award ceremonies. Why do you find this surprising?
2
Maybe I was watching the 2019 Oscars in a parallel universe ( reading all the positive reviews). It was the worse I can remember. We watched it maybe for 30 minutes!!!! Waste of time.
4
Oscars do not need a host. Last night proved it...
Just write a few more jokes for presenters...much better!
17
Oscar’s fashion is always a great reflection of what is going on in society. People who are not fascinated by the endless array of diverse clothes are probably not into fashion, period.
Thanks for the great images of what was such a grand fashion moment. #ClothesIWouldWearIf.....
5
Did some of these people realize that they just looked ridiculous?
Even more so because they had obviously spent so much money achieving that “look.”
13
@Park bench
Money? I think you're missing something..... many of them do not spend ANY money on the outfits. They're walking adverts/billboards for the designers.....
Remember when Sharon Stone won and said she was wearing (I can't remember exactly) The Gap and J. Crew? That's good Oscars dressing...... give the money to someone who needs it. Not Louis Vuitton...
/
1
I've been reading a lot about ratings falling, but I grow concerned that when evaluating programming we turn to this criteria as a valid measure. It is a measure of popularity, but certainly not of quality, and often opposed to it. Would love if articles did not so often reflect on programming with such a value for ratings, or even controversy. The point is that it is an event to honor the people who make movies.
1
@Marcy The Oscars have made this very political, and used as a tool to push their agendas. If it is really an event to honor the people who make movies, then they need to keep their political opinions to their selves and focus on the movie industry. I do believe it has become a political event and the participants should be able to say what they want, therefore definitely it is something that should be measured by its ratings. And for Pete's sakes they should quit showing men in dresses.
6
@john
Men is dresses......Who cares...Live and Let Live
1
@john The Oscars have been political for decades. Marlon Brando sent a native American woman to refuse his award. Nothing new. This year I think this Oscars achieved a level of diversity that was necessary for the show to remain relevant. TV viewership is down overall because people watch what they want when they want. It is watching the Oscars in real time that is probably the most old fashioned part of it.
1
It seems like every month or so we have another show where performers are giving themselves awards. And they have become more and more suffused with identity politics and political commentary. What about awards for doctor's, teachers, humanitarians, and other truly deserving people?
68
@Rick
Yes! That’s what the International Congress of Mathematics (where they award Fields Medals) needs, a red carpet! With designer outfits, and nominees making small talk with the entertainment press!
8
@Rick I wasn't raised to live life expecting awards. The whole idea of trophies and awards has run its course. There are literally billions of people in the world. Are we really telling the vast minority that they are sooooo special?
5
@Rick
Awards are given in those fields too. They're just not televised.
2
It's interesting to see how a cinema award show and its Red Carpet seem to have become one of the most relevant fashion shows of the year... In a way it looks as if people tend to forget the real purpose of the Oscars...
Now that being said, I have to admit it is quite fascinating indeed, and that it is yet another proof that fashion definitely mirrors the evolution of the world and of society - or of a certain type of society, that is.
5
@Agnes G
Do you mean the real purpose being the industry promoting itself?
I'd say the red carpet is of a piece with that.
3
@Agnes G
The real purpose of the Oscars is and always has been to sell the product. The red carpet fits in with that quite nicely.
4
@jim Possibly. To be honest I had a more idealistic vision of the Oscars in that to me, it was really about rewarding talented people from the movie industry..
But I guess you are right in saying that there is a bit of advertisement in it.. Such a shame, though...
Totally agree. This was the freshest Academy Awards show in years.
31
The Red Carpet remains a highly materialistic place, in which pop culture snobs evaluate and rate unjustifiably expensive clothing according to some vague, subjective standard. It may not be quite as ugly as it was in Joan Rivers' heyday, but it's still the worst part of the pointless and irrelevant event known as the award show.
38
@MA Strongly disagree. Viewers love it for the same reason that they love the movies themselves: pure escapism. And that's show biz -- always has been, always will be. People want to see glamorous clothes on glamorous actors, etc. Totally relevant and better than ever this year - nice, inclusive, diverse, etc.
83
@me
I agree and think of the red carpet fashion parade as a display of costumes. It's just for fun!
13
@me "People want it". People also want to see fight videos on Youtube. That doesn't make it good.
4