What a shocker! Politeness and sincerity dominate at 98th annual Oscars ceremony

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It was a night of winners, and “Sinners,” and one Oscar after another.

But mostly, the 98th annual Academy Awards was a predictably long but surprisingly low-key, let’s-play-nice affair, with controversies mostly kept offstage, and politics largely consisting of nods to community and connection.

True, “One Battle After Another” — a sometimes serious, sometimes bitterly satirical look at fringe politics and violent division — was the big winner, taking home the Best Picture prize, as well as directing and screenplay awards for Paul Thomas Anderson, the inaugural Best Casting Oscar, and another statue for supporting actor Sean Penn.

Paul Thomas Anderson at The Oscars.

But a visibly nervous Anderson was merely, modestly thankful on each of his three trips to the stage; the dependably fiery Penn — winning his third Oscar — didn’t even attend. (Reportedly he was already in Europe, on his way to Ukraine, a nation he has fiercely supported for years.) Any opportunities for grandstanding were passed by (although Anderson worked in a quiet apology to his children’s generation, and “the housekeeping mess that we left, in this world we’re handing off to them”).

There was another chance for controversy as “Sinners” — a movie in which monsters became a metaphor for racial exploitation — seemed continually passed over. It began the night with a record 16 nominations — and ended it with a record 12 losses. Bigotry at work? Online pundits might have thought so, but its filmmakers made no complaints. Instead, director Ryan Coogler gracefully accepted his screenwriting award (only the second Black filmmaker to win one). Newark’s Michael B. Jordan, holding his Best Actor prize for a dazzling performance as twins, movingly acknowledged those who had gone before him, from Sidney Poitier to the still problematic Will Smith, thanked people for their faith in him, and promised to “keep stepping up.”

The film also triumphantly broke an old record as Autumn Durald Arkapaw picked up the Oscar for Best Cinematography — the first woman to do so in the Academy’s 98-year history. But she, like the rest of the movie’s makers, seemed to prefer to focus on what had already been accomplished, rather than lecture about the work still be done.

There were other films and other winners, of course, with the veteran actress Amy Madigan winning a supporting prize for her wild work in “Weapons” and Irish thespian Jessie Buckley earning the Best Actress honor for her searing performance in “Hamnet.”

Amy Madigan at The Oscars.

Both women, overwhelmed by the pure joy of the moment, burst into laughter as soon as they took the stage, then went on to thank their mates. Madison lovingly saluted Tenafly native Ed Harris, “who’s been with me forever, and that’s a long-ass time.” And Buckley, who had her first child last summer, dedicated her Oscar to “the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart” and blurted out to her husband, sitting in the audience, “I want to have 10,000 more babies with you!”

If the night was gentler than usual, the mood was set by host Conan O’Brien, gently mocking himself, even shooting a comic introduction in drag as Madigan’s wiggy “Weapons” character. Ad hominem attacks were mostly traded for corporate barbs targeting Amazon, YouTube, and artificial intelligence and predicting that O’Brien would be the ceremony’s “last human host — next year it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux.”

True, there were references to sex scandals, and people renaming venerable theaters after themselves. O’Brien even warned the audience they would probably be hearing some political stuff, and if they worried that might trigger them, “the alternate Oscars are being hosted by Kid Rock at the Dave & Buster’s down the street.”

But words like “Iran” and “ICE” and even “Donald Trump” were never mentioned (probably, of course, the surest way to annoy him).

Not that politics didn’t creep in. Presenting the documentary awards, Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t help working in a “Melania” joke and noting there were some places that didn’t support free speech. “I’m not at liberty to say which,” he added. “Let’s just leave it at North Korea and CBS.” (The winner for Best Documentary Feature, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” however, was more explicit, drawing parallels between Russia and The United States.)

Priyanka Chopra and Javier Bardem at The Oscars.

And before presenting the Oscar for Best International Feature, Javiar Bardem demanded “No to war and free Palestine!” Although interestingly, when it was time to give out that Oscar, it went to “Sentimental Value” — the only one of the five nominees to not delve into politics.

Overall it was a far cry from Oscars past — like the 2003 awards, when Michael Moore used his acceptance speech to rail against America’s recent invasion of Iraq. Or even the 1999 ceremony, when an honorary award was given to director (and HUAC informer) Elia Kazan, and Madigan and Harris sat there stonily, refusing to join in the applause.

The mood had definitely changed, sometimes in small but immediately visible ways. Remember when guests used to wear their politics on their sleeves, or at least on their lapels, with one celebrity after another displaying a button or a colored, cause-conscious ribbon? This year, for some reason it was all about the bling, with most of the actors sporting different dazzling broaches instead.

Of course the sporadic political messaging was still too much for some conservative pundits, rushing to their laptops to decry the latest Hollywood “wokeness.” But it’s difficult to not see last night as a different sort of Oscars, less eager to shout out a slogan, less willing to rush to the barricades. Whether that was out of fear, or restraint, or just plain weariness is harder to say.

Although, actually, you had to admit, this was a ceremony that could have used a little controversy.

Even with some trims (only two of the nominated songs were actually performed, and acceptance speeches were drastically cut down) the show lasted more than 3½ hours. The supposed “banter” among the presenters was even worse than usual, with a “Bridesmaids” reunion bit going on forever.

And the shameless self-promotion was repulsive, even for Hollywood. We’re used to the Oscars being used to plug upcoming movies. But the fact that all the ones being promoted this year — a “Devil Wears Prada” sequel, a “Mandalorian” film, another “Avengers” installment — were all products of Disney or a subsidiary seemed especially crass. (ABC, the network broadcasting this near-infomercial, is a Disney property as well.)

Was this an Oscar show, or an address to shareholders?

It would have been far better if the producers had spent less time worrying about squeezing in free ads for Disney and more about making sure the show ran smoothly. Sometimes the sound cut out. One winner had the mike taken away while he was speaking. And when the show returned unexpectedly from one commercial break, O’Brien was caught unprepared, forced to ask if they were on.

Barbra Streisand at The Oscars.

Oddly, the one segment this year that went smoothly was the one that’s usually a problem: the “In Memoriam” sequence. Apparently taking the annual, post-show criticism to heart — and acknowledging the number of major stars who had died over the last year — the Academy expanded the tribute, incorporating some separate salutes. Rob Reiner got one, introduced by “When Harry Met Sally …” star Billy Crystal. Diane Keaton received another, hosted by Rachel McAdams (who also squeezed in a mention of Catherine O’Hara). And the third went, as it needed to, to Robert Redford, with his old “The Way We Were” star Barbra Streisand doing the honors.

Real fans could quibble with all three. Why Crystal and not Reiner’s lifelong friend Albert Brooks? Why McAdams, who did two films with Keaton, and not Steve Martin, who had not only costarred with her three times but knew her since college? And why the uncertain Streisand — who had to be helped onstage — and not the still vital Jane Fonda, who made four films with Redford over nearly 50 years?

Perhaps, in that last case, Academy execs worried Fonda would — as she has at other recent awards shows — speak out boldly about politics. Perhaps fear of controversy was also why the recently deceased Brigitte Bardot — known for her far-right views and anti-Muslim prejudices — was left out of the memorial montage entirely. Better to be accused of forgetting a late star than to have them booed on air.

Certainly both decisions would have been in keeping with a ceremony that was determinedly careful and controlled, with less room left for controversy, confusion or even glorious surprises. (My record this year for predicting the night’s six big prizes? Six out of six.) But while that makes for a smoother, slicker Oscar evening, I’m not sure that’s why any of us tune in.
Or what we’ll even be watching when — come 2029 — the whole thing streams exclusively on YouTube. And, as in O’Brien’s final, sardonic joke, he’ll have been permanently terminated in favor of a new MC — MrBeast.

For a complete list of winners, visit oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2026.

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