85th Academy Awards Reaction

The 2012 mania that was the Oscar race has finally come to a close, in one of the most surprising finishes of all: the lack of surprises. In a year that was marked with so many momentous firsts (first 3-time Best Actor Award crowned, youngest and oldest Best Actress nominees ever, first woman wins Best Animated Feature, first time all nominees in an acting category are all past winners (Supporting Actor, etc), the final outcome of Oscar night was exactly what was expected, and the entirety of the night was almost free of spoilers or 'shockers.'

Although we predicted Emmanuelle Riva to pull an upset in the Best Actress category, perhaps we should have read the blatant tea leaves and called it for Jennifer Lawrence, who won in a moment of pure star power and charisma. The same goes for Daniel Day-Lewis, who gave the night's most humble, funny, and moving speech and tribute to the career he has made. What did we tell you, Christoph Waltz pulled off an expected win in Supporting Actor, and joined Dianne Weist as the second actor to win multiple acting awards for the same director (Weist's director being Woody Allen). And Anne Hathaway, well, what can we say. She pulled off the expected sweep of the season, though her rehearsed speech and nipple dress just left us with a bad taste in our mouthes, instead.

The show itself was hopefully what the producers were going for by bringing in Seth MacFarlane to host: edgy, big, and different. We doubt MacFarlane will be asked to return, and yes his performance drew as many 'boos' as it did praise. I, personally, thought he was stellar. Here was a star who sang, dance, entertained, and understood the responsibilities of a host. Yes, he was often risque (his joke about Rihanna and Chris Brown was perhaps too far) but when you think of hosts in past years (quick, who hosted the 84th Oscars? No, it wasn't Anne and James), MacFarlane created a memorable night.

Of course Argo pulled off he victory in the end, grabbing the two biggest awards after Picture and Director (Editing & Screenplay), and Ben Affleck nervously squeaked his way through another cute and touching Oscar speech. Perhaps the most rewarding moment of the night was Ang Lee's well-earned victory in the Best Director category, edging out Steven Spielberg and earning a standing ovation. Life of Pi, in the end, won the most Oscars of the night, and we can't help but wonder how far behind the film was to beating Argo for the top prize. Ang Lee now shares the company of a small group of Oscar winners to win 2 Best Director trophies with neither film winning Best Picture (Brokeback Mountain).

Our predictions were a far cry from the year prior, and we accurately guessed 15 correct winners. Perhaps too many of our guesses were long shots, or predicted spoilers (Argo for Score, Emmanuelle Riva...) but many were simply ignored in favor of the other front runner in each category. Perhaps the biggest 'spoiler' was Lincoln winning for Production Design, though that's hardly a spoiler people will discuss at the office the next morning. Another surprise was the tie in Sound Editing category, though neither winner (Skyfall & Zero Dark Thirty) were what we expected (Life of Pi).

Next year, who knows what to expect. As far as predictions go, year by year we realize that to accurately predict these winners, it cannot be viewed with any emotional connection. The Oscars are a popularity contest, first and foremost, and in many cases you can make accurate predictions just based off numbers. Overall, the 85th Oscars were a great success, and we are excited to see what 2013 has in store for the world of cinema.