This year’s Oscars was round two for Jimmy Kimmel as host. While he did a fine job last year, I tend to enjoy the more biting comedy of Golden Globes ex-host Ricky Gervais, Kimmel’s first Oscar foray was overshadowed by the now-infamous Best Picture flub. So, with that in mind, you had to imagine that Kimmel would come out of the gates talking about last year’s show.
Right off the bat, Kimmel’s monologue discussed the “Moonlight”/”La La Land” mix-up, joking that he was offered an opportunity to include the accountants in a skit last year, but declined because he didn’t want them distracted. Whoops.
But it wasn’t all “Moonlight.”
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Kimmel also went head-on into discussing the recent sexual harassment and assault stories that have been dominating headlines for the last year. He discussed how disgraced studio head Harvey Weinstein isn’t the first person to be expelled from the Academy. In 2004, actor Carmine Caridi was kicked out of the Academy for distributing screeners. “Carmine Caridi got the same punishment as Harvey Weinstein for giving his neighbor a copy of ‘Seabiscuit’ on VHS,” joked Kimmel.
He also mentioned how everyone loves the Oscars, specifically the actual award, more than any other award. Kimmel said, “Just look at him. He keeps his hands where you can see them. Never says a rude word. And most importantly, no penis at all.”
After getting the heavy stuff out of the way, Kimmel decided to liven up the mood just a little by throwing his own award in the mix. Offered to the winner with the shortest acceptance speech, Kimmel brought a brand-new jet ski, “Price is Right”-style, on stage, with legendary actress Helen Mirren as the requisite model showing off the prize. Later, he would sweeten the pot by including a trip to Lake Havasu.
For those who didn’t watch, Best Costume Design winner Mark Bridges, from “The Phantom Thread,” “won” the prize and rode off stage atop the jet ski, with Mirren behind him to close out the show.
All in all, Kimmel did about as well as he could, and definitely better than many of the previous year’s hosts. Seven years later, and I’m still trying to erase James Franco and Anne Hathaway from my memory.