Literally, a Smash Hit

Had Will Smith not slapped Chris Rock, what would have been the Oscars’ most memorable moment?

After reading so many commentaries that harp on the act with no mention of the provocation, the question feels like a 21st Century version of:  “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

In this case, however, the show went on, and though we were left wondering what actually transpired–if there was a backstory, what was said when the audio was censored, was it staged?–our attention was taken elsewhere.

Which is, after all, what Hollywood is all about.  And which is why I offer four speeches for most memorable moment.  In no particular order:

• Kevin Costner’s could-have-heard-pin-drop-on-a-pillow reminiscence of entering a theater on his own at age seven and watching a four-hour western that redirected his life.  Who doesn’t have at least one transformative story set in a movie theater at an early age?  In what was easily one of the two most moving speeches by an Oscar presenter that I’ve ever heard, Costner illuminated what we overlook:  Every film’s every detail can trigger our imagination, and the best directors are always taking aim.

• Jessica Chastain’s acceptance for Best Actress in a Leading Role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.  Almost as a sequel to Costner’s remarks about imagination, Chastain spoke of a film’s possibilities as a call to action.  Her scope was sweeping, from inadequate healthcare in the USA to war in Ukraine, but her intent was specific: We cannot be bystanders.  Put the Reagan-era politics of Tammy Faye Baker aside, and Chastain was true to character.

• Troy Kotsur’s signed acceptance for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in CODA.  He gained the best laughs of the night while also offering an honest, welcome, and long-overdue entry into the world of deaf people.  No need to put anything aside to know that Kotsur’s speech, which had the interpreter choking up, was true to the spirit of CODA.

Before I get to the fourth, let’s rewind to the Oscars of 2005 when that year’s host ridiculed actor Jude Law’s lack of a nomination for a role in a film that gained bad reviews:

You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. It’s not the same thing. Who is Jude Law?

Law may not have been present, but his friend Sean Penn was soon on stage to present an award. Before he did, he said this:

Forgive my lack of humor. Jude Law is one of our most talented actors…

Penn then mentioned his work with Law before ending with a defense of the craft regardless of what critics say and what nominations are made. The message was as moving as Costner’s last night. Unlike Costner, the look on Penn’s face and the timbre of his voice were of barely controlled rage. Rage directed at the evening’s host, one Chris Rock.

Which brings us to the last but not at all least candidate for most memorable speech last night. Admittedly, this one would never have been made if not for the hit:

• Will Smith’s acceptance for Best Actor in a Leading Role for King Richard. We can only wonder what he had prepared to say if his name was called. Instead, we got a man repentant for what he had just done but still felt the justice in having done it. We got a man who reacted to public ridicule of his wife’s medical affliction made by a guttersnipe. We got a man who thanked Denzel Washington for his counsel after the fact and quoted it: “In your highest moments, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.” We got a man devoted to family, very much in the character of Richard Williams. And we got this description of how he views his work:

I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people. I know, to do what we do, we’ve gotta be able to take abuse. You’ve gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you’ve gotta be able to have people disrespecting you. You’ve gotta smile and pretend that that’s okay.

We even got a touch of comic relief: “Love makes you do crazy things,” as he began. “I hope the Academy will invite me back,” as he concluded.

His remarks gained endorsement from a presenter soon to follow, one Anthony Hopkins who drew another round of applause for Smith. No one cared that Smith apologized only to the Academy and to the viewers with no apology to, not even a mention of, the guttersnipe.

Last night, as an actor and as a man, Will Smith displayed the full range of human emotion. Chris Rock, as ever, was nothing more than a punch line.

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