Oscars 2020: 'Non-hosts' Chris Rock and Steve Martin prove why awards shows need humor and fans love them
The Oscars might not have had an official host for the second year in a row, but after watching Steve Martin and Chris Rock's opening monologue fans affirm they want the duo to host the award ceremony henceforth.
The Oscars 2020 saw Hollywood's biggest stars make their way down the red carpet and into the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, February 9. After Janelle Monáe kicked off the award ceremony with her fun and entertaining medley, Chris Rock and Steve Martin took the stage to deliver their opening monologues.
Starting off, Steve shared, "We both hosted the Oscars before. This is such an incredible demotion." The duo then began their comedic jabs at the nominations and the award ceremony. They also commented on the fact that the nominations this year lacked to recognize female filmmakers. Steve shared “...I thought there was something missing from the list this year.” Chris replied, “Vaginas?”
They also joked about how Twitter has taken away the opportunity for anyone to host the ceremony. Chris and Steve also made a reference to the mix up that happened when 'La La Land' was accidentally named Best Picture when it had really been awarded to 'Moonlight'. They also roasted Amazon's Jeff Bezos. “Jeff Bezos is here,” Rock announced. “He’s got cash, when he writes the cash, the bank bounces.” He continued, “Jeff is so rich, he got divorced and he’s still the richest man in the world. He saw ‘Marriage Story’ and thought it was a comedy.”
Their mini-monologue also touched upon inclusion as well. Steve said, "Think how much the Oscars have changed in the past 92 years...back in 1929, there were no black acting nominees," to which Chris replied, "And now in 2020, we got one."
The duo also made a reference to Cynthia Erivo being the only black nominee for any acting role in tonight's award ceremony. "Cynthia [Erivo] did such a great job in Harriet hiding black people that the Academy got her to hide all the black nominees."
Despite there being no hosts this evening, Chris and Steve proved that the award show will be a great one none the less. After watching their opening monologue, fans on Twitter claimed Chris and Steve killed it and wished the duo would be back to host the award ceremony next year.
" I wish Chris Rock and Steve Martin were really hosting #Oscars," a fan wrote. Adding to that another said, "The Acdemy legit could have got Chris Rock and Steve Martin to host without announcing it beforehand."
"Chris Rock and Steve Martin killed it. #oscars #Oscar2020 #missingvaginas," a fan shared, While another wrote, "Steve Martin and Chris Rock are hilarious. Bring back hosts to the #oscars and start with these two!"
"Chris Rock and Steve Martin was the best surprise. They could’ve just hired them and let them do a full monologue. #Oscars #Oscars2020," a fan said. While another shared, "The Oscars usually has the most cringy sense of humor, so having 2 people actually being funny, with Chris Rock and Steve Martin, was a nice change of pace. Can they come back to host the rest of this? #Oscars #Oscars2020."