Three of Hollywood’s top funny ladies turned the Academy Awards into a stand-up stage Sunday with an opening monologue jam-packed with topical jokes.
Oscar hosts Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes didn’t hold back at the ceremony at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, with a barrage of one-liners poking fun at nominated movies and issues within the film industry.
“This year, the Academy hired three women to host because it’s cheaper than hiring one man,” Schumer deadpanned.
Sykes, meanwhile, referred to the Oscars as a place “where movie lovers unite and watch TV,” and said of Netflix’s brooding Western drama “The Power of the Dog,” “I watched that movie three times, and I’m halfway through it.”
Hall said she was “excited to be hosting, representing Black women who are standing proud.”
“Yes, and I am representing unbearable white women who call the cops when you get a little too loud,” Schumer quipped.
Their joint monologue followed a rousing opening performance by Beyoncé, who performed her song “Be Alive” from the tennis biopic “King Richard” from a remote stage, surrounded by backup dancers and a full band.
The ceremony’s first trophy went to “West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose, who won best supporting actress for her performance of the confident, dancing Anita. DeBose’s win came six decades after Rita Moreno won the same honor for her portrayal of Anita in the original “West Side Story” film.
Sunday’s Oscars returned to the show’s longtime home at Dolby Theatre after last year’s Academy Awards transitioned to the more low-key Union Station in Los Angeles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stars such as Jessica Chastain, Ariana DeBose, Marlee Matlin and Andrew Garfield dazzled in different shades of red on the Oscars’ first full-fledged red carpet in two years, where many dressed in bold gowns and glittery outfits.
“The Power of the Dog,” which centers on a domineering cattle rancher who torments his brother’s new wife and her son, led all films at Sunday’s ceremony with 12 nominations, including best picture and best director for Jane Campion.
The best director nod was the second for Campion, with her first coming for the 1993 drama “The Piano,” making the New Zealand native the first female filmmaker in Oscars history to receive multiple nominations in the category.
“She’s very good at making you feel uncomfortable in the best way possible to get you out of that zone,” Kodi Smit-McPhee, who was nominated for best supporting actor for his performance as a sensitive teenager in “The Power of the Dog,” told the Daily News of Campion last year.
“That’s really rewarding. I feel like you can’t learn something if you think you already know it, and Jane’s a huge advocate for that.”
“The Power of the Dog” won the top prize at numerous award shows leading up to the Oscars, including January’s Golden Globes.
Another awards-season heavy-hitter was “CODA,” a heartfelt film about a child of deaf adults, which won the ensemble cast honor at last month’s Screen Actors Guild Awards. “CODA” was also one of the 10 films nominated for best picture at Sunday’s Oscars.
“There is a lot of unpacking that takes place in this film, and you’ll be able to see and learn the richness of deaf culture — the history behind it, the language — but at the same time, this is a story that is universal,” Matlin, who plays the matriarch of the central family in “CODA,” told The News last August. “A family supporting each other. A family that cares for each other.”
Troy Kotsur, who portrayed the family patriarch in “CODA,” was a finalist for best supporting actor at Sunday’s show, making him the second deaf performer to receive an Oscar nomination. Matlin was the first, winning best supporting actress in 1987 for the drama “Children of a Lesser God.”
Other nominees for best picture Sunday included Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast,” a coming-of-age story set amid the social unrest of Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, and Steven Spielberg’s vibrant adaptation of the musical “West Side Story.” Both films received seven nominations.
The Oscars generated controversy ahead of Sunday’s show after organizers announced the ceremony wouldn’t announce the winners of eight craft categories during the live broadcast, but would air prerecorded segments of those awards being unveiled instead.
Winners that were revealed on social media before the ceremony began included the science-fiction epic “Dune,” which received trophies for best film editing, best original score, best sound and best production design; and the Jessica Chastain-led televangelist biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which took home the trophy for best makeup and hairstyling.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was nominated for best original song for “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney’s animated “Encanto,” also had a chance to make history Sunday. A win would give him his first career Academy Award and thus secure him EGOT status as the recipient of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Miranda announced Saturday that he wouldn’t attend Sunday’s show as a precaution after his wife tested positive for COVID-19.
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