Before I get into my show review, can we just internally scream for a second about how awkward those final minutes were? I just feel terrible for everyone involved. Does that go down as the most cringe-worthy awards event of all time? It has to be up there, right along with Angelina Jolie kissing her brother, “Adele Dazeem,” and James Franco’s entire hosting gig. Yikes.

With that said, Moonlight was absolutely deserving, and I’m kicking myself for doing a last minute shift to La La Land. I’d had it in the back of my mind all season that Chazelle would win director, but Moonlight would win film. And I went against that better judgment.

In fact, of my 8 misses (making this one of my worst years ever… so maybe people should not read my predictions anymore…), 7 of the actual winners were my second choices, some of which I swapped the morning of. The only one I never listed anywhere was Suicide Squad, because I’m not sure I want to live in a world where that can have the superlative of “Academy Award Winner.”

For Costume I went with Jackie over Fantastic Beasts, which was a last minute choice since both were so worthy. Fun fact though- Beasts is the first movie in the Harry Potter-verse to ever win an Oscar.

For Sound Editing I went with Hacksaw Ridge, figuring either it or Arrival would win based on that award’s past history. I again chose wrong.

In the category of Best Live Action Short I bet on topical drama over delightful children, choosing Ennemis Interieurs over Sing, which won. My bad.

For Editing I agonized between Arrival and La La Land, but ultimately bet on the musical. No again. It’s like I’m the champion of #2 options?

The same can be said for Original Screenplay. I again assumed La La Land would do better than it did, and chose it over Manchester By the Sea.

I also missed on Manchester again by trusting in Denzel. Sorry man.

And finally, I did that stupid last minute swap from Moonlight, missing picture.

It was not a good ballot, but at the same time, that’s a really good thing for the movies. We had such a wonderful year with incredibly diverse and unique pictures. I love seeing awards spread out like they were- it’s an indicator of quality across the board. I had the opportunity to view so many phenomenal projects that I’m already itching for next year!

So since my ballot was a disappointment, what was good?

  • Ruth Negga and Janelle Monae slaying the red carpet
  • Dev Patel’s total joy over Sunny Pawar being hoisted up ala The Lion King
  • Mean Tweets
  • The reactions of those random tourists. I am so deeply jealous. I want to hug Meryl too.
  • Viola Davis’s speech
  • Kevin O’Connell finally winning for Sound Mixing after 21 nominations
  • The White Helmets getting more exposure for their amazing humanitarian efforts
  • Mahershala Ali being the first Muslim to win an acting award, and his gushing happiness over his new daughter
  • Remembering that Andrew Garfield and Naomie Harris are, in fact, British
  • Candy
  • And most of Kimmel’s hosting performance. It was a good mix of edge and fun and seriousness. Plus Matt Damon ribbing is the best.

What did you love about the ceremony? How much did you want to cover your eyes at that final category mix up? Who looked the most awesome?

Until next season!