Hollywood’s biggest night arrives Sunday, when fashionable movie stars, filmmakers and their plus-ones in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles will reward and applaud each other at the Oscars. It’s not uncommon for the annual Academy Awards ceremony to be a bloated affair.
Do Academy voters always stick the landing? Hardly. For every “Moonlight,” there’s a blah, safe-bet winner such as “Green Book,” which somehow triumphed over the far more deserving “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “The Favourite” and “Roma.”
To be fair, the Academy does get it right, on occasion. But what fun it is to opine and rant and rave about their picks.
To truly enjoy the Oscars telecast experience, gentle reader, there’s a bit of etiquette to follow when attending an Oscars party.
Here’s my cheeky, far from foolproof, list of 10 do’s and don’ts.
- Do: Create a ballot for your guests and distribute beforehand for a friendly competition. It gets everyone involved, even the disagreeable folks who whine that they only saw one movie this year, so how can they possibly vote responsibly, and plus they think the whole shebang is silly, and they only show up to the party for those weenies and some wine. Should they indeed “win” said pool (indeed a possibility if a long shot), expect them to be running the pool next year and breaking down the odds in each category.
- Don’t: Give a huge cash prize or give someone that unker car you’re trying to offload on someone. Play with the smallest potatoes, since big bets could land you in big trouble.
- Do: Dress up and take advantage of a theme. You don’t need to rent a goofy tux or buy a flowing gown. Tap into your creative side. Come as a Brutalist structure (though it might get a tad uncomfortable and be a bit boxy to boot). Freak everyone out by transforming into Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler’s nightmarish character from “Dune: Part Two”). Or borrow a friend’s guitar, dig up a big beige scarf, grab some dark sunglasses don a fiddler cap and—voila! —you’re an insta Bob Dylan (the subject of “A Complete Unknown”). Should you prefer to represent “Anora,” proceed with caution.
- Don’t: Talk when the winners’ names are being announced. Save it till later. No one wants to hear your witticisms and miss the big moment. But once that happens, unleash the beast. Cheer. Boo. Do a “Mission: Impossible” stunt on the couch. Whatever. Then sit your butt back down and listen to the acceptance speech and bawl your eyes out, gush to a friend about how much you just love actor A or B, and high five others who also picked the winner on their ballots.
- Do: Send creative gifs via text to your Oscar-loving friends from afar. A reaction shot pulled from “The Office” is always a welcome sight and often guaranteed to sum up most sentiments.
- Don’t: Dress up your pet as a presenter, emcee, star or an Oscar statue. They really don’t like it. Just ask my cat.
- Do: Tune in to Oscars red-carpet arrivals and yak it up. It’s always a hoot to check out the outlandish fashions and the bling. It also gives you a chance to spot the stars’ plus-ones. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling proved what good sons they happen to be by bringing their moms as dates. So cute, and it made us love them even more.
- Don’t: Be a sore loser all night. If your special someone or your fave film lost, ditch bemoaning the soul-crushing reality every friggin’ chance you get. It’s a killjoy. You will be avoided and might never be invited back. (I know this to be true.)
- Do: Take to social media to post your reactions. We could all use a welcome distraction right now.
- Don’t: Invite me to your Oscars party. I have way too many idiotic rules and regulations. I’ll just stay at home Sunday night with my cat at my side. We both will be rooting for “Flow” for the win.
The 97th Oscars ceremony airs at 4 p.m. March 2 on ABC. It also can be seen on the ABC app, Hulu, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
The post Pass the Remote: 10 do’s and don’ts for your Oscars party appeared first on Local News Matters.