As we finish our Oscar celebrations and mourn the end of another Awards Season, let's explore this year's Academy Award speeches. Unlike past ceremonies, this one was poor in truly disastrous acceptance speeches. Perhaps people saw the mess of last year's Best Makeup winners and decided they would be prepared to step on stage and receive their little golden men with dignity and generosity towards the teams that got them to that dazzling podium. Whatever the reason, this was a good year for Oscar speeches and we honor them, from the most unmemorable to the god-tier achievements in public speaking.
We begin with the least impressive efforts of the night…
24. BEST SOUND EDITING
Donald Sylvester, Ford v Ferrari
While we appreciate the eulogy for 20th Century Fox, that bit about thanking his wife for sacrificing her career so he could succeed was a tad unnecessary. It was a memorable speech for all the wrong reasons.
23. BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Rocketman
It was nice and smart of Elton to let Bernie Taupin speak first. That said, apart from the mutual love each man expressed for the other, this speech was a bit of a rambling mess. Heartfelt, but could have been shorter and more polished.
21/22. BEST ACTOR / BEST ACTRESS
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker / Renée Zellweger, Judy
Speaking of rambling messes, both of these actors' speeches were meandering nightmares. Nonetheless, they were endearing in their own idiosyncratic manner, in part because they're so representative of the winners themselves and their star personas. These aren't good speeches per se, but they're heartfelt memorable ones.
20. BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
It seems cruel to put Tarantino's masterful designers so low, but their speech, while solid, was unmemorable. It doesn't help that they were completely overshadowed by their hilarious presenters.
19. BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran, Little Women
Like Ling and Haigh before her, Durran had the misfortune of being presented her award by the funniest presenters of the night. Recalling what she said is difficult, her victory clouded by the laugh-fest of Rudolph and Wiig. Still, it was nice to see how much the costume designer seemed to love Greta Gerwig.
18. BEST SOUND MIXING
Mark Taylor & Stuart Wilson, 1917
Speaking of people who seem to love their director, this was a heartfelt speech made better by the winners' generosity towards their teams and fellow filmmakers.
17. BEST EDITING
Andrew Buckland & Michael McCusker, Ford v Ferrari
We continue the theme of winners showering their directors with love.
16. BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
Marshall Curry, The Neighbor's Window
A good speech. Modest and simple, enlivened by a tribute to the director's mother.
15. BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler & Dominic Tuohy, 1917
They get extra points for remaining poised and charming through the indignity of having to receive their Oscars from two human-cat monstrosities.
14. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Josh Cooley, Mark Nielson & Jonas Rivera, Toy Story 4
A classy speech honoring the filmmakers' families, their crew and, most importantly, the audiences who grew up with Woody, Buzz and their merry bunch.
13. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit
Funny, short and emotional with a dewy-eyed message of love from a filmmaker to his dear mother.
12. BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan & Vivian Baker, Bombshell
Their utter devotion to Charlize Theron was incredibly endearing. It's also a good strategy to keep people's minds on their transformation of the actress into Megyn Kelly. Nobody wants to dwell on Kidman's subpar makeup job, for instance.
11. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, 1917
What a wonderful speech, honoring the brilliant crew members who often go unrewarded and unacknowledged. Moreover, Deakins names them instead of letting be anonymous beneath the usual denomination of "my team".
10. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Carol Dysinger & Elena Andreicheva, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)
Speeches like this are the reason I hope this category is never taken off the televised ceremony.
09. BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Matthew A. Cherry & Karen Rupert Toliver, Hair Love
A healthy mix of heartfelt gratitude and political activism coalescing into a beautiful tribute to why representation matters, on and offscreen.
08. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
A good speech made better by some truly astounding reaction shots, from the heart-eyed love emanating from Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach to the teary pride of Diane Ladd.
07. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
This is the platonic ideal for an inspiring Oscar speech that gets people misty.eyed.
06. BEST PICTURE
Bong Joon-ho & Kwak Sin Ae, Parasite
We start the Parasite love-fest with their final and most glorious award. This was a joyous moment, all the more memorable for the sweet reverence of Miky Lee for director Bong Joon-ho and her appreciation of South Korean audiences. On a night when we got our first non-English speaking Best Picture winner, it was nice to acknowledge the movie wasn't made for American audiences despite its universal success.
05. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Bong Joon-ho & Jin Won-Han, Parasite
Within the collection of Parasite victories, we find the Bong trilogy of awesome speeches which starts with the win for Best Original Screenplay. The highlight wasn't so much the speech, thought, but the sheer joy emanating from Bong Joon-ho, including when he was in the background and Jon Won-Han was talking. It resulted in one of the best images of Oscar night.
04. BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Bong Jon-Ho, Parasite
"I'm ready to drink tonight, until next morning." Not until you win two more Oscars, director Bong.
03. BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
The trilogy of Bong's speeches ends with a marvel of generosity towards his fellow filmmakers. The Irishman might not have won a single statuette, but Martin Scorsese still got a standing ovation thanks to Bong Joon-ho. No wonder Hollywood fell in love with the Korean master filmmaker.
02. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Whether or not he's been writing his own jokes, Brad Pitt's speeches were one of the consistent highlights of this past awards season. At the Oscars, it was no different, negotiating a perfect balance between the charm of a matinée idol, lackadaisical humor, and genuine emotion. It was a speech befitting a movie star.
01. BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert & Jeff Reichert, American Factory
"Workers of the world unite."
What was your favorite speech from Oscar night?