Oscars Review: Conan O’Brien Nails a Ceremony That’s Sincere and Silly in All the Right Places
For a second — somewhere between Cynthia Erivo’s fourth and 14th “ah” during the high point of “Defying Gravity” — you may have wondered, “How is Conan O’Brien going to follow this?” Opening with a live musical number that bridged “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz,” and “Wicked” and culminated with a song guaranteed to give anyone within earshot goosebumps… well, starting with a showstopper sure makes it hard for the comic relief to restart the show. Would he lean into the big emotions by kicking off with the Oscars‘ ode to L.A. firefighters? Would he head in the opposite direction with a joke that undercut Erivo and Ariana Grande’s much-anticipated performance? Would he simply wait it out — let the stars hand out a few awards before stepping in to serve as a low-key, supportive-type host?
No, Conan O’Brien answered the question like a true pro: He simply got them laughing. Reviving a classic Billy Crystal bit (who he later called “the best Oscar host ever” while introducing the comedian to announce Best Picture), O’Brien inserted himself into a scene from “The Substance” by inserting his entire body into Demi Moore’s back. “Hi, Demi, how are you?” he said after the pre-taped segment wrapped and he walked out onstage (wearing both shoes). “That was weird.” And it was weird. It was gross (especially for an ABC audience watching at 7 p.m. ET). It was specific to a movie that’s grossed just $17 million in North America (vs. “Wicked’s” $473 million). But it was funny, and it was sincere — two facets O’Brien trusted to carry him through his first gig as Oscars host, and two attributes that helped make it one of the best Oscars telecasts in years.
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That O’Brien’s vibe also fit perfectly with the night’s big winner — “Anora,” a gleefully hilarious film when it’s caught up in the fantasy and crushingly candid once reality settles in — was a nice bonus, especially as a beaming Sean Baker kept returning to the stage to share his enthusiasm for winning and his advice for saving the movie business. (“Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen,” he said when accepting his Best Director trophy, before adding that distributors should do the same and parents should introduce their kids to the joys of visiting their local art house.) All told, the 2025 Academy Awards had a little bit of everything: sentimental moments to get swept up in (like speeches from Paul Tazewell and Mikey Madison), hysterical moments to share with all your friends (the Adam Sandler assist absolutely killed), and silly moments to make this year’s awards feel like no other. I mean, when else did you to see a sand worm play the piano?
O’Brien won the house over almost immediately, in no small part because of how many times he introduced a joke in his opening monologue with the words, “[Nominated movie], I love that movie.” Love? Movies? These movies? Are you sure? Oscar hosts aren’t always so eager to endorse the titles endorsed by the Academy, but O’Brien was behind them all the way. He was far more self-deprecating than he was eager to belittle specific talent or nominated films. “A Complete Unknown. A Real Pain. Nosferatu. These are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet,” he quipped.
Yes, he also took his shot at Karla Sofia Gascón, whose infamous post-nominations, pre-ceremony scandal may have cost Netflix another Best Picture trophy. But that’s also exactly why O’Brien had to address it, and his jab — “Karla, if you are going to tweet about the Oscars tonight, my name is Jimmy Kimmel” — didn’t shy away from the mistakes she made, but it also didn’t make anyone sitting near the disreputable nominee too uncomfortable to enjoy the show.
O’Brien also went out of his way to ensure the audience knew what show they were in for. He laid out ground-rules for the winners. (John Lithgow and his look of slight disappointment became the low-key MVP of the night, and the “Conclave” star earned bonus points for saying “cringe” while presenting Best Costume Design.) He sang a song about how insane it would be to waste viewers’ precious time with nonsensical routines (and then made sure to include plenty of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”-era shenanigans like teaching Dancing Deadpool where Latvia is on a map and bringing back the Sand Worm to play a little harp). He expressed his heartfelt love for Los Angeles, as well as the men and women who helped protect it from utter devastation.
O’Brien did all this before the first half-hour was up, and then he followed through over a ceremony that never felt weighed down by its host and rarely felt hampered by the optional entertainment. (Honoring Barbara and Michael Broccoli because they recently won an honorary Oscar is fine, but no one needed a James Bond montage right now. And I understand why they did it, but the Quincy Jones tribute felt out of place, especially when it arrived after the three-hour mark.)
“If you’re still enjoying the show, you have something called Stockholm Syndrome,” O’Brien mentioned late in the telecast. But the truth is the Oscars are like the medium they honor: “No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short enough.” (Roger Ebert) Provided the Academy Awards ceremony is providing consistent entertainment, it doesn’t need to worry about running late. Network executives might complain, and casual viewers may go to bed, but these are not the factors that determine the Oscars’ success — in the here and now, or in the long term. A good show of any length will bring people back the next year, and O’Brien delivered a damn good show.
He, of course, had help. Along with executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor and executive producer Katy Mullan — who introduced a mix of fan-favorite elements throughout (including clips of their performances for some nominated actors and live plaudits courtesy of last year’s winners for others) — the Oscars are always going to live and die by the voices in the room. Kieran Culkin got us off to a rousing start with a bleeped-out thank you to his “Succession” co-star Jeremy Strong and an oddly endearing story about how far he’ll go to have more kids with his wife. Zoe Salda?a got weepy and impassioned in an acceptance speech that honored her immigrant parents as well as her Dominican heritage. Adrien Brody went way too long, bypassing his play-off music in an uneven attempt to honor everything that went into “The Brutalist” (and, in doing so, maybe too-closely embodied the three-hour picture’s less-than-equal halves). And Mikey Madison provided a genuine surprise, topping Demi Moore (the heavy favorite) and Fernanda Torres (the sleeper pick), to win Best Actress.
For as lively as the acting winners proved to be, Sunday night’s show should be remembered for how the producers wholeheartedly embraced the craft categories. Bringing out actors to applaud their costume designers and cinematographers was a savvy way to bring added attention to “below-the-line” artisans. Would it have been nice to see the format replicated more often? Absolutely, but the clock is always ticking, and there’s also only so many times audiences will listen to fawning praise from one creative to another before it becomes grating. Perhaps next year’s Oscars can trot out famous spokespeople to talk up different categories, while keeping whoever wrote Ben Stiller’s Production Design introduction and Mick Jagger’s Bob Dylan jokes on board to pen equally clever opening remarks for the other craft categories.
Finally, I’d be remiss in my duties as IndieWire’s TV critic not to mention Sean Baker’s closing words. After ceding the microphone to his fellow producers (who hadn’t already been honored a record number of times that night), Baker couldn’t let the 2025 Oscars end without one more plea for a community that’s always fighting for its audience. “I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a truly independent film,” Baker said. “This film was made on the blood, sweat, and tears of incredible indie artists — and long live independent film!”
Conan O’Brien may not be the first guy who comes to mind when thinking of indie movies. He came to fame on broadcast television. He runs an incredibly popular podcast. He’s a towering Irishman who travels the world and gets along with everyone he meets. But just this year, he made a rare acting appearance in the Sundance favorite “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” alongside Rose Byrne, who will hopefully be invited to next year’s Oscars. More importantly, O’Brien embraces the spirit of independent film — he’s drawn to the weird, the different, the stuff that’s hard to explain and harder to justify, but settles into your bones and refuses to leave. You can see it in his comedy, and you could see it at the Oscars. Rather than take pot shots at how little money this year’s nominees made or go out of his way to talk about films that weren’t even nominated, O’Brien maintained a consistent excitement to be part of the strange and artistic ceremony; to be talking about these films; to be a part of their big night.
If that meant rooting around in Demi Moore’s back, looking for his shoe, then that’s what O’Brien was going to do. “That was weird,” he said. Yes, it was, Mr. O’Brien. How refreshing. Please come back anytime.
Grade: A-
The 2025 Academy Awards were held Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, CA. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC and will be available to stream Monday on Hulu.
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