2025 Oscars were slow and strange — but were saved by ‘Anora’ and Conan O’Brien

nypost.com:

nearly four-hour Oscars is some undeniable fact of life. The sun rises in the east, the sky is blue, the Oscars take one-sixth of a day.But 30 minutes could’ve oh so easily been cut from Sunday night’s strange and sloooow Academy Awards.Why, exactly, did Margaret Qualley dance during a pointless tribute to James Bond that featured godawful covers of “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Live and Let Die”?Why, exactly, did Queen Latifah belt “Ease on Down the Road” from “The Wiz” as a tribute to Quincy Jones?Why, exactly, did “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande perform a “Wizard of Oz”-themed medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Home” and “Defying Gravity?”Friends, I have no idea.All of that stuff should’ve been axed.

The broadcast had a perfect host in the hilarious Conan O’Brien, a fun little-engine-that-could-narrative in Best Picture winner “Anora” and a forgiving 7 p.m.

EST start time.But Oscar kept shooting himself in the foot, as only he knows best.Regardless of the needless frills, it was euphoric to watch the indie gem “Anora,” the finest movie of 2024, win Best Picture — even if it took the flight time of a trip to Denver for it to happen.With a budget of just $6 million, “Anora” is the lowest-budget top Oscar winner ever.

Some attendees’ guest houses cost more. But voters embraced the tagline of the New York-set dramedy: “Follow your heart.” Director Sean Baker alone snapped up four awards (Picture, Editing, Screenplay and Directing) — tying a single-night record held for decades by Walt Disney.Does it get more 2025 than Mickey Mouse being in a dead heat with a flick that begins in a topless bar?Behold, the upset of the decade: “Anora’s” 25-year-old star Mikey Madison toppled favorite Demi Moore, 62, who.