We try to find five top Canadian Oscar moments from Sunday’s Academy Awards snoozefest
Well, there you have it. Awards season is over, but the hangover—or, in the case of The Social Network gang, the lingering feelings of resentment—has now set in. The biggest buzz out of Oscar night was the totality of James Franco lameness. As far as hosts go, he may go down as the worst of all time. We would have killed for a little Uma–Oprah humour, and that’s saying something. Did poor Anne Hathaway want to wipe that disinterested smirk off his face with her fist? We’re guessing yes.
For its part, Canada was hardly centre stage this year (we stand by the opinion that Barney’s Version was robbed), although the night of nights did include some northern moments worth mentioning. The five most memorable after the jump.
1. Ben Mulroney pimps his pocket squares on the red carpet At least we assume that bit of periwinkle blue peaking out from his pocket was part of Ben’s dedicated fashion line, coming to a brass-buttoned blazer near you this spring.
2. Jessi Cruickshank reports from the Oscar boonies Correct us if we’re wrong here, but didn’t the red-headed half of the Aftershow duo head off to L.A. for some bigger and better career opportunity? Maybe this is eTalk’s way of putting her in her place—that is, next to a parking lot. Cruickshank was posted next to a gate, watching limo after limo roll by, and, thanks to Hollywood’s thriving window-tinting industry, she could only guess at who was inside. Dan Levy may want to reconsider his own ship-jumping, lest he be weighing in on next year’s Oscar broadcast from the inside of a sewer tunnel.
3. Incendies gets tromped by In A Better World The foreign film category was Canada’s best hope for Oscar glory, but—damn the Scandinavians!—the golden guy went to Denmark. Funny, because everyone assumed the race was between Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies and Biutiful (the Mexican movie starring the biutiful Javier Bardem). On the plus side, nice to see an unexpected upset on an otherwise painfully predictable night.
4. Celine complicit in Corey Haim diss Quebec’s squeekiest export since cheese curds was on hand to belt out a divalicious rendition of “Smile” while the traditional “In Memoriam” tribute played in the background. This year’s death reel, however, failed to include Toronto-born ’80s movie icon extraordinaire, Corey Haim. The star of such Beta-era classics as Lucas, The Lost Boys and License To Drive was a glaring omission. Given the similar Brad Refro diss a couple of years back, we can’t help but wonder if the Academy employs some sort of unstated morality clause in the dead celebs it celebrates. But, then, how do you explain the inclusion of the late, great LSD pioneer Dennis Hopper?
5. Oh, well. At least Marky Mark loves us James Franco’s grandma may love the ’90s undies king, but Mark Wahlberg made it clear that his own heart belongs to Toronto, eagerly singing our city’s praises in a red carpet interview with Pocket-Square Mulroney. He even dished on a magical evening he spent with Tie Domi and some other pals at Harbour Sixty. A night carousing with NHL players? No wonder his wife looked so pissed off.
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Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
