The 97th Academy Awards aired March 2, 2025, and were hosted Conan O’Brien. The most notable wins of the night went to “Anora” for Best Picture, and “I’m Still Here” for Best International Feature Film.
Unlike last year’s Oscars’ endearing and emotional tones, this season had a more unpredictable and unconventional spirit. Opening with a monologue by Conan O’Brien that included a dancing Deadpool and the sandworm from Dune playing “Chopsticks” on the piano. O’Brien’s performance was wild and erratic, but incredibly well-received.
TV critic Judy Berman of Time magazine gave O’Brien a sparkling review. “Too many skits, gags, and staged interactions with celebrities typically drag down awards ceremonies; this is among the most common complaints about the Oscars. But zany bits are Conan’s forte, and he nailed just about all of them,” she writes in “Conan Nailed the Oscars Hosting Job Simply by Being Conan.”
However, the Oscars aren’t the Oscars without controversy. The pick for Best Actress, scandalous tweets, and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) affected the reputations of this year’s nominees. Star of “The Brutalist” Adrien Brody, who won for Best Actor, came under fire recently for their use of AI in the film. While the use of AI was limited to fixing dialogue in one scene and for visuals of a video playing in the background of another, audiences and critics questioned if these choices were entirely necessary after the relatively recent SAG-AFTRA strikes over AI use.
Mikey Madison, winner of the Best Actress category this season, beat Demi Moore, the considered “favorite” of the category. Many considered Madison’s win to be ironic considering how Moore’s role in her film, “The Substance,” was of an older woman yearning for her past success while being jealous of younger actresses. Moore is currently 62 years old, while Madison just broke the record to become the 9th youngest winner of the award, aged 25.
The largest controversy taking over this Oscar season was the film, “Emilia Pérez.” The movie was already controversial after its Golden Globe win for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, beating out the publicly acclaimed “Wicked.”
It was clear from its release that the film was largely critically acclaimed but publicly criticized, especially for its competition with such a beloved and long-lasting musical. There have been many disputes online over the trans-representation in the film and the production.
However, the most public loathing was unleashed after Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón’s old tweets were uncovered. Her statements included highly controversial opinions on race, religion, vaccines, and even the Oscars. In response, many of the production team and cast distanced themselves from the incident, but the damage to the film’s reputation is clearly unfixable.
The awards show was not all disappointing moments, however. There was a chaotic, but very endearing acceptance speech from Kieran Culkin, detailing how his wife told him they could have another child after he won an Oscar: “Let’s get crackin’ on those kids!” he said.
The Baltic nation of Latvia also received their first Oscar when the animated film “Flow,” which was made using open-software, took home the win. Overall, it seems audiences enjoyed theater being brought to life through “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s live performance of “Defying Gravity,” as well as through O’Brien’s showmanship. With the ongoing political battlefield in America, and in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the Oscars served as a temporary and mainly welcome escape for audiences around the world.
