The Bests, Worsts, Mosts, and Leasts of the 2025 Oscars

A long, but dramatic ending to a long, but dramatic season.

Mar 03, 2025

What even happened last night at the Oscars? It’s not that it was a bad show, exactly; we got pretty standard fare: some laughs, some random interpretive dance, a few montages that felt plucked out of a hat, a couple upsets, jokes about running over, ACTUALLY running over, and one very musical sandworm. But we turned off the TV at 7:53 p.m-ish -- almost four hours after the show began -- and felt a little unmoored. Was it because we didn’t have time to process Mikey Madison’s low-key shocking defeat of Demi Moore? Were we still trying to get our energy back after Adrien Brody’s EXTREMELY LONG speech sucked it out of us? Is this just how it feels after awards season finally comes to an end? Maybe the answer to all of those questions is yes.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of yesterday’s lengthy festivities, let’s take a look at the Drinks With Broads Oscars ballot, and see how the community did.

Best Picture: Broads Pick: Conclave. Actual Winner: Anora.
Best Director: Broads Pick: Sean Baker, Anora. Correct!
Best Actress: Broads Pick: Demi Moore, The Substance. Actual Winner: Mikey Madison, Anora
Best Supporting Actress: Broads Pick: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez. Correct!
Best Actor: Broads Pick: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist. Correct!
Best Supporting Actor: Broads Pick: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain. Correct!
Best Animated Feature Film: Broads Pick: The Wild Robot. Actual Winner: Flow (I will say that Flow ALMOST won Broads Pick as well.)
Best Original Screenplay: Broads Pick: A Real Pain by Jesse Eisenberg. Actual Winner: Anora, by Sean Baker.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Broads Pick: Conclave by Peter Straughan. Correct!

So, as a group, we’re 5-9. That’s a 55 percent. If we were in high-school Algebra, our parents would be hiring us a tutor. But for the Oscars, we think it’s great and here’s why: Awards shows are so much more fun when the outcomes aren’t preordained. In that sense, a loss in the poll is still a victory. And that means WE WON!!!!

Weirdest Pre-Show Moment: After a pretty successful awards season, E!’s Oscars red carpet show took a few left turns, most of them at the hands of the usually solid Keltie Knight. We blame her frazzled vibe on the fact that she and E!’s Will Marfuggi were the ones stuck up on the roof of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not building -- always a thankless spot -- and it was windy. Being distracted by the fear of getting blown off a roof is the only excuse for telling the home audience that Ariana Grande and Spongebob -- a relationship that NOTORIOUSLY started while he was married with an infant at home -- were “couple goals.” ARE THEY, KELTIE????? They don’t ever walk the red carpet together, or talk about each other, or act like they know each other! They seem terrified to be seen touching in public! They both got dragged for this romance! What are you talking about?!?! PS: Even so, please be careful up there.

Most Therapeutic Red Carpet Host: Zuri Hall has done a great job since taking over as the captain in January, and she really had to dig deep last night because it seemed like some people were going through it. She reassured at least two folks that she was excited to be talking to them, one of whom was Diane Warren, a woman whose entire vibe was basically, “I’m never gonna win this.” (Even Christian Siriano, back at the Fashion Sofa, was like, “I’LL DESIGN YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT, DIANE,” at the camera, as if that might cheer her up.) Zuri comes across as invested and kind but also informed, and above all calm. We cannot remember the last time we were relaxed watching one of these. Please someone send her some flowers.

Most Welcome Return: E! needs to keep Siriano on that fashion sofa. Even when he isn’t being technically snarky, there’s something about him that cuts through the sycophantic sweetness that pervades that part of the show. “God, that is GOOD, that is ANNOYING,” he jokingly griped about Demi Moore. Acerbic but still not unkind, and so much better than repeated gushing about totally banal outfits being somehow legendary.

Biggest Pre-Show Fakeout: We wanted to give this to E! for consistently running old footage of previous red carpets -- part of discussing people’s fashion pasts -- and talking about them so vaguely that anyone not paying close attention might think it was happening live. It was VERY perplexing. (“Is Emma Stone in a wig?” asked a confused Kevin.) This is not an unusual practice when the hosts are waiting for people to arrive, but the execution this year was particularly ham-fisted. Maybe next time, don’t bamboozle everyone into tuning in at 1 p.m. PT for a show that does NOT need to begin until 2.

Weirdest Vibes: Congratulations to E!’s ad team for apparently deciding that everyone watching this show wanted to either buy bladder control pads from Katherine Heigl, or download an app to do Bible study with Chris Pratt. You have woefully misread THIS room.

Biggest Record Scratch: During the E! show, we learned that Elle and Dakota Fanning are hoping to work together, and apparently the first project on their list is... about the Hilton sisters?!? Elle waxed rhapsodic about how being friends with Paris is a “dream come true,” and we suppose back in the late aughts, she was approximately the age of the teenage girls we heard in Hudson News shrieking about Paris on the cover of a magazine. But of all the stars of that era, a) we are perhaps LEAST invested in a Paris and Nicky story, in general, and b) why not a limited series about summer 2007, when Nicole Richie drove the wrong way down the 101, Paris herself went to jail, and Lindsay Lohan had TWO arrests, one for having drugs in her pants that she said were someone else’s? (Seriously, that summer was unhinged.)

Strangest Descriptor: We loved the fabric of Whoopi Goldberg’s (and Felicity Jones’s) gown. It had a glorious liquid look. Christian Siriano, who designed Whoopi’s, called it “liquid water” all night. Wouldn’t it be “liquid-look”: Because, though far be it from us to tell the man who made it that he’s wrong, “liquid water” sounds like the kind of oxymoron Derek Zoolander would use in an ad.

Best Shout-Out: Cynthia Erivo’s nails have practically become their own character this season, and it was wonderful to hear her on E! calling out Mycah Dior by name, then demanding a close-up of her work. They WERE incredible. She had a WORKING WATCH on one of them! Truly, this callout is long deserved.

Most Divisive: If Conan O’Brien’s brand of silliness is not for you, then you likely hated his hosting segments, and many of the commenters in last night’s live chat did. But if he’s your jam, you were probably giggling. We are in the latter camp, but regardless, we think Conesie turned in exactly the kind of goofball, low-stakes performance the Oscars clearly wanted. The world is and has been on fire both literally and figuratively, so we needed silly from “four-time Oscar viewer” Conan. We enjoyed his inside-baseball dig at Adam Sandler never dressing appropriately; “Bob Dylan wanted to be here, but not that badly”; and calling Wicked “the perfect movie for anybody who’s ever finished watching The Wizard of Oz and thought, ‘Sure, but where did all the minor characters go to college?’” We’d invite him back anytime, assuming Billy Crystal doesn’t feel like he has one more in him.

LOUDEST RANT WE ARE TIRED OF GIVING, ALL CAPS INTENTIONAL: WHY NOT MORE CLIPS????

Biggest Room for Improvement: Listen, we don’t actually care that much when the Oscars run over; much like Grey’s Anatomy, we’re here, we’re in this, and we’re sticking it out until the bitter end. But you have to understand where the fat is in your show, versus the moments that people actually want and enjoy. We would always trade an actor droning on about five other actors for CLIPS OF SAID ACTORS DOING THEIR ACTING. Cutting “Best Song” does not mean we need to REPLACE IT with... a long musical ode to James Bond??? You let speakers honor each nominated costume designer, but not the makeup artists? There is no internal consistency in this show. Use clips for the actors, and save the personalized intros for the artisans where we can learn something about their craft. Do not feel beholden to having singers, especially if they are not singing the nominated songs. And while we’re here: Is anyone watching the Oscars REALLY in need of ten montages explaining what each nominated movie is? Can we not let the casual viewers turn to Google sometimes, in exchange for not playing off nominees, and above all, USING CLIPS??????

Tiniest Concession to the Above: Da’Vine Joy Randolph delivered her praise to the five Best Supporting Actress nominees with SUCH heart and gravitas that we wanted to give her another Oscar just for that.

Best Trend: Zanna Roberts of E! kept yammering that blush was going to be the big note of the night, but there were three madly shiny, sleek silver column gowns (Mindy Kaling, Halle Berry, Yvonne Orji) and one madly shiny, sleek strapped gown (Demi Moore) that all felt kin to one another -- and we’re not upset about it. Beats blush any day, and for that matter, also bashful. (Shout out to Steel Magnolia fans.)

Best Sartorial Statement: Isabella Rossellini, who is in the late David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, wore a gown made of that material to celebrate her nomination. What a superb hat-tip.

Biggest Absence Not Related to Having Shingles: As best we can tell, nobody wore vintage last night -- or at least, none of the heavily styled A-listers. We got vintage-inspired, archival-inspired, and in the case of Coco Jones, something made from vintage fabric scraps (her words!), which might count in spirit. But this awards season has been pleasantly vintage-heavy, and we missed that when it was gone.

Biggest Question: Okay, but... what is left for the promo trail for Wicked 2: Wickeder? Where else can these fashions go? Will Ariana wear an actual bubble?

Saddest Phone Call: We have to think that, somewhere, Glenn Close -- resplendent in gold for her coronation, only to lose to Olivia Colman -- was digging around for Demi Moore’s phone number. Demi was dressed ready to win that thing and then got pipped at the post by Anora’s Mikey Madison. We hope those broads get together for drinks very, very soon. And then maybe put their heads together on a film project that gets them both back in the building.

Best Rebound: Several us had gotten a wee tired of Kieran Culkin’s shtick, especially given that he was as sure as shoo-in as we had this season. But he got one back on us when he won last night, thanks to a funny story about his wife, Jazz: A year ago at the Emmys, he said she’d told him they could have a third child if he won, and when he did, she cracked that she’d give him a third and FOURTH if he won an Oscar. “I haven’t brought it up until now. Oh ye of little faith,” he cracked. (She seemed to find this delightful.)

Biggest Winner: Clearly, it’s June Squibb, who cruelly was not nominated for Thelma, but who came out to present an award to make-up artists and landed a very amusing bit about how she was secretly being played by Bill Skarsgard. Give us Thelma 2, you cowards!

Biggest Bummer, Until It Wasn’t: For a long while there -- say, the first half of the show? -- we thought the Oscars FINALLY understood not to play off its winners. Especially the lesser-known ones getting a huge global moment, who are often appreciative in a way we Regular Folks can relate to better. But then someone apparently started getting antsy about the show’s run-time, and we got about five people played off by the orchestra in the back half of the telecast. However, credit to the producers for trying TWICE to drown Best Actor winner Adrien Brody off the stage. They were correct about that one. Some say he’s still speaking.

Best Part of Our Live Chat:1 The comments EXPLODED with crabbiness when Adrien Brody got the win, and it only got better from there when he just would not. Stop. Talking. Some of our favorite lines of the night were from our Broads. Maybe all of us should host the Oscars next year? Think about it.

Where To Next, Broads?

We aren’t ready to end this road trip! (Although we do need naps.) These awards-show live chats have been so fun, and we’re wondering what other events you’d want to experience en masse. Obviously, we will do the Met Gala in May; the Tonys, the Emmys. You all definitely made the Super Bowl fun. And we are ready for the daily 2026 Olympics chats. But, we have real regrets about missing out on the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary live show, because we think we would have had a blast experiencing that together. Is there anything else you’re hankering to watch along with your fellow Broads? Please let us know!

Last Call:

— If you want red carpet fashion coverage, come by Go Fug Yourself today, because we’re going to be wall-to-wall.

— If you missed it, last year we did a chat with Oscar-nominated writer — and beloved former blogger/Television Without Pity recapper — Pamela Ribon about the nitty-gritty of attending the ceremony, and it was amazing. We highly recommend checking it out if you weren’t with us then.

— You may recall that Still Alice was co-directed by Wash Westmoreland and his partner Richard Glatzer, who died of ALS shortly after Julianne Moore won the Oscar (and who had to watch her speech from the hospital). Wash wrote a really lovely piece for the Hollywood Reporter a few weeks ago that touches on Richard’s experience directing and writing a film about a degenerative disease while suffering with one of his own. Richard was one of my first bosses when I first moved to L.A., on Tough Enough and America’s Next Top Model, and he was a singular spirit who laughed with his entire body; I will never forget that sound, even though his disease eventually robbed him of it. But it never took the intellect, the talent, and the humor of the man himself. This essay is wonderful and Wash said it was hard to edit down even to this length, so I hope someday he turns it into a book or a movie of its own — though I can’t imagine anyone ever playing Richard better than Richard did. — H

Header photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

This was our most-commented chat yet, with over 4000 comments! That’s almost 1,000 more than 2024’s Oscars chat. Thank you all so much for choosing to spend your time with us. It was a blast.