I’ll admit it: After five years of watching virtually every major—and often minor—award show for work, I’ve gone from a starry-eyed superfan to a bit of a cynic. I still love the pageantry and red carpet silliness (and the excuse to text everyone I know about inane celebrity gossip), but after COVID-induced delays, the rise of the hostless show, and the recent glut of hosts who made me wish their shows were hostless (sorry, Jo Koy), it’s just been...a long few years for the entire concept.
The exception to this depressing rule, though, is what’s commonly known as the industry award show. Besides the Governor’s Awards—where John Mulaney recently made some excellent jokes about AA—the annual Film Independent Spirit Awards are perhaps the best example of this mostly untelevised genre, and Mulaney and fellow comedian Nick Kroll made them genuinely fun and edgy as cohosts in 2017 and 2018. (I still think about the following joke, at the latter ceremony, regarding the scourge of sexual misconduct by men in Hollywood: “Last year, everybody famous died. This year, everybody famous wishes they were dead.”)
The 2024 edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which took place in Santa Monica on Sunday, was hosted by Saturday Night Live alum and Shrill star Aidy Bryant. And while I am definitely biased as an unabashed Aidy stan (Aidiac? Bryantologist?), I can honestly say that she turned the night into one of my favorite award shows I’ve ever watched. Besides being very funny—she and May December star Charles Melton wearing what can only be described as “horny shirts featuring each other” was a rare audience cutaway gag that actually worked—fittingly for a former SNL star, she was also able to roll with the live-performance element of the gig without radiating the nervous and clammy energy of a less-experienced performer. Watch her opening monologue for yourself and thank me later:
Her style was also perfect for the occasion. A known fashion girlie, Bryant has shown her love for independent brands in the past, including Batsheva, Rhode, and Sandy Liang, and the cropped velvet top and ruffled skirt from Ester Manas she wore on Sunday were glamorous yet cheeky in a way that provided a refreshing contrast to all the thin, white guy hosts’ boring suits. (Sorry to be harsh, but am I wrong?)
I obviously died laughing at Bryant’s promise of “a push-up competition after the Cassavetes award,” but the most impactful part of her opening monologue actually wasn’t a joke—it was her shoutout to the strikes that swept Hollywood over the last two years. “When the solidarity from the WGA, SAG, the Teamsters, and IATSE shows us the collective power of our labor? That’s indie, baby,” Bryant told the crowd, to much applause, before promising to cut the sincerity (just like a true comedian). Aidy Bryant for president! Or, at least, for host of a major televised award show—provided they let her do her thing!
