THE OSCARS 2025: A Recap & Review

4 days ago5 min read

The 97th Oscars: A Night of Big Wins, Big Speeches, & Big Conan Energy

Golden "Oscars" text with a silhouette of the statuette in place of "A." "2025" below, set against a sparkling gold and black background.

Award season is officially over, and the 2025 Academy Awards are now in the books. As I do every year, I watched the telecast. This year I watched with my girlfriend, Julie, and we had a small Oscar party, which was a blast.

But the real fun? The live interactive chat on my Patreon page, where we had a great crowd of subscribers discussing the ceremony in real-time. We talked about the pacing, debated the winners, analyzed the speeches, and even shared photos of what we were eating. It was a fantastic interactive event, and honestly, that made the night even more entertaining.

So, how was the show? Well, it ran 3 hours and 45 minutes, which is fairly typical these days. They’ve now permanently moved the start time to 6:00 p.m. Central, which Conan O’Brien made a joke about right at the top: “Hollywood’s biggest night... and it’s 4:00 in the afternoon.” Classic.

Later in the show, Conan made this statement directly to the camera: "If you're still enjoying the show, you have something called Stockholm Syndrome." Also, classic.

The Big Oscars 2025 Winner: Anora

Man in a tuxedo smiling, holding four Oscar trophies. Beige background with "OSCARS" text. Celebratory mood.

The big winner of the night was Anora. Sean Baker took home four Oscars—Best Director, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and of course, Best Picture. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of Anora. I think it’s wildly overrated, and Sean Baker has made far better movies in the past.

But hey, it was the Academy’s golden child this year, and it completely steamrolled the competition.

There were a few upsets and surprises, but overall, it was a fairly predictable night in terms of winners.

Conan O’Brien: The Host the Oscars Need (and Deserve)

Let’s talk about Conan O’Brien. Wow. This was a home run. This guy should absolutely become a recurring host, maybe alternating with Jimmy Kimmel every year.

Conan was fantastic. His monologue killed, filled with sharp, hilarious jokes that took well-placed jabs at Hollywood, movies, and even the ridiculousness of the Oscars themselves.

Now, I was hoping for some classic Conan weirdness—maybe a Masturbating Bear cameo or Triumph the Insult Comic Dog roasting A-listers. But he kept things professional (for the most part).

Still, he worked in his signature self-deprecating humor, sharp improv skills, and perfectly timed jabs. The pre-written bits were excellent, and his off-the-cuff reactions to things happening live in the theater were hysterical.

If you ask me, he should be back next year. This is the guy to host the Oscars. Make it happen, Academy.

The Good, The Bad, and The Awkward

The Good

Bearded man in headphones speaks into a microphone. He's in a dimly lit room with a dark blue background, wearing a black suit and tie.

Nick Offerman as the Oscars Announcer: Genius. Known for his deadpan delivery (hello, Parks & Rec fans), Offerman not only read the intros beautifully, but he also had great comedic bits throughout the night, especially in his interactions with Conan and Amy Poehler. A terrific choice for the job.

First Responders Tribute: Brilliant idea. Having firefighters and first responders from L.A. take the stage to tell jokes and introduce awards was a heartfelt, human moment. It was touching and funny, which is a rare balance for an awards show.

A man in a brown suit smiles at a woman in a strapless dress. She holds a microphone, with a calm and joyful expression. Blue background.

Andrew Garfield making Goldie Hawn cry: This was a surprisingly sweet moment when Garfield spoke about how much his mother loved Goldie Hawn—she was visibly moved. One of those unexpected, genuine moments that made the night special.

Flow wins Best Animated Feature: This was one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the night! I loved Flow, and it deserved the win. Also, in a rare turn of events, all the nominees in this category were great, which made this an even more satisfying victory.

Sean Baker’s Speech: As much as I think Anora is wildly overrated, Sean Baker’s speech about the importance of movie theaters and the theatrical experience was one of the best speeches of the night. He talked about how moviegoing is dying, how young people don’t get to experience it like past generations, and how we need to keep independent theaters alive. Fantastic message.

The Bad

The James Bond “Tribute”: This was an absolute disaster. It started off strong with a great montage, but then we got… that. Some relatively unknown pop singers came out, performed horrible arrangements of mediocre Bond songs, and Margaret Qualley awkwardly danced around in a comically bad choreographed number. What should have been a celebration of one of cinema’s most iconic characters turned into a baffling mess.

Quincy Jones Tribute Fail: How do you honor Quincy Jones—one of the greatest producers, composers, and musicians of all time—by only performing one song (Ease on Down the Road from The Wiz) and calling it a day?! They didn’t even include a montage of his greatest works, and not playing the Sanford and Son theme? That’s criminal.

The Most Annoying Acceptance Speech of the Night: The Best Original Song winners (El Mal from Emilia Pérez) decided to sing the backend of their acceptance speech. No. Just… no. Painfully self-indulgent, unbearably pretentious, and one of those moments where you just scream at the TV for the orchestra to start playing them off.

The Awkward

Man in black tuxedo on stage holding an envelope, arms outstretched. Gold and orange backdrop with vertical lines. Confident mood.

Robert Downey Jr. is now officially insufferable: Once a charming, charismatic actor with an inspiring comeback story, Downey Jr. has now become obnoxious, smarmy, and borderline unbearable. His condescending tone and sarcastic remarks throughout his presentation were painful to watch. A tiny dose of RDJ is fine. Anything beyond that is exhausting.

Adrian Brody’s Speech: Just wow. Brody wins Best Actor for The Brutalist and proceeds to deliver one of the most pompous, self-important speeches I’ve ever seen. At one point, he even stopped the orchestra from playing him off, declaring: “I’ve been here before. This isn’t my first rodeo.” Yikes. You just won an Oscar, dude—maybe try not being unbearable?

Young woman in pink dress holds an award, speaking at a mic. Inset shows woman in silver dress clapping. Both appear joyful.

Demi Moore’s Disappointment: Everyone expected Demi Moore to win for The Substance. She was the favorite. But Mikey Madison pulled the upset. Now, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Anora, but I was fine with this win, just because it meant we didn’t have to hear another one of Moore’s painfully self-important speeches.

Final Thoughts: A Solid Show with a Standout Host

The Oscars 2025 was a strong telecast. Sure, it had some lowlights (the Bond tribute disaster, the Quincy Jones snub, a few insufferable speeches), but the highlights far outweighed them.

And above all else, Conan O’Brien absolutely stole the show. His perfect mix of satire, sharp humor, and genuine love for movies made for an unbelievably fun and engaging night.

So, award season 2025 is officially over, and while many of my favorite films and performances were snubbed, it was still a fantastic night of entertainment. See you next year, Oscars—hopefully with Conan back at the helm.