Reactions vary among Oscar watchers, but I'm tired of Jimmy Kimmel. Comedy is subjective, but I've never warmed up to the late night host as an Academy Awards fixture. His humor comes with a taste of perceived superiority as if he's above the movies honored at the ceremony. To be fair, that's common across award shows everywhere, but we caught a glimpse of something better earlier this season. On January 9th, John Mulaney hosted the Governors Awards, killing it like nobody's business while exuding a sincere love for the medium. He even showed up at the Oscars to ramble about Field of Dreams in the night's best bit. Hopefully, AMPAS saw those appearances as auditions because the Oscars sorely need someone like John Mulaney to take on hosting duties…
The relationship between the Academy to movie history has been fraught in recent years, as the Honorary Oscars were moved out of the telecast and TV producers keep finding ways to screw up the In Memoriam presentation. This year, they added interpretative dance and an over-emphasis on the singers, taking the focus away from the dearly departed artists. Even worse, many names were relegated to a sea of text at the end of the set piece – among them the likes of Kenneth Anger and Terence Davies. It's impossible to overstate the disrespect of such a gesture. For every sweet reference to Beetlejuice (the Michael Keaton and Catherine O'Hara onstage reunion!), we get this sort of insulting nonsense.
But what about the Governors Awards, the Honorary Oscars to celebrate Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, Carol Littleton, and Michael Satter? In years past, these honorees at least warranted a passing mention. This time around, nothing. I had hoped Mulaney's appearance would lead to a montage from the night, maybe a snippet of speeches (Bassett gives a good speech, and who wouldn't want to see her with an Oscar in hand?), but none of that materialized. At least have the winners present to receive a bout of applause or something.
I'm not under the assumption that giving John Mulaney hosting honors would solve these issues. However, it'd be a step in the right direction. His scant brushes with Oscar showcased an ability to jest about the movies without diminishing their greatness, honing on a balance between humor and reverence. Like the best Oscar hosts, he gives the impression of being a cinephile, which should be a requirement of whoever gets the job. Another requirement should be to watch the actual nominees, but I've lost hope on that front. After all, do we really need to hear folks like Kimmel make another joke about how the nominated movies are too long? I think not.
Who would you pick for Oscar host? Mulaney? Gaga? Baby Annette?