Goofy gaffe steals ‘Moonlight’s’ thunder

Trevante Rhodes in “Moonlight”

When Steve Harvey goofed big-time in the Miss Universe pageant last year, announcing “Miss Colombia” instead of “Miss Philippines” as the winner, some viewers consoled themselves by noting that it was “just” a beauty pageant.

Little did they know that, only a year later, whatever virus had infected the goofy Harvey would also bite into Faye Dunaway in the recent Oscar Awards, similarly prompting her to “mis-announce” the best picture “winner”—“La La Land,” instead of the actual victor, “Moonlight”!

Gulp. Is this virus catching? In defense of Dunaway, she wasn’t an official program host like Harvey, just a retired movie star well along in years, so she really shouldn’t be “blamed” for the big, “breaking news” booboo and epic fail.

The culprit was in fact the production person who handed Dunaway and copresenter Warren Beatty the wrong envelope and card—so, read him or her the riot act, instead!

But, the humongous boner should still be loudly complained about, because it rained on “Moonlight’s” parade and stole the thunder from its amazing triumph.

If things had gone right, the film’s victory would also have rated huge headlines, because “La La Land” was touted to win all the while, so “Moonlight’s” “upset” win would have been a truly sensational achievement.

Alas, the show’s booboo turned the event from amazing triumph to unprofessional scandal, prompting media coverage to focus on the scandal, rather than on the artistic achievement that was being honored and celebrated.

The least we can do to help make amends is to go out of our way to view “Moonlight” when it opens in our cineplexes anytime soon. Only then will we realize and understand why the US film academy’s members voted against expectations, to honor a “small” indie drama as the film year’s best picture.

Less controversial but similarly notable highlights of the Oscar Awards included anti-Trump jibes, started off early in the awards show by host Jimmy Kimmel. He made it a point to extol Trump’s pet peeve, Meryl Streep, who got on his bad side recently.

Trump pooh-poohed Streep’s lecture by dismissing her as an “overrated” performer—and Kimmel grandly begged to disagree by citing Streep’s many Oscar nominations (20) and awards!

In the same vein, luminaries like Gael Garcia Bernal and Asghar Farhadi also weighed in on Trump’s divisive gambits:

Bernal: “Actors are migrant workers … I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us.”

Farhadi: “My absence is out of respect for the people of … nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans immigrants’ entry into the US.”