Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscar Opening Was Short and Silly

The opening to the Oscars – pretty much any awards show, really – is always heavily scrutinized. That’s probably because the people heading them up are considered among the hardest working talents in show business. This year, it’s Jimmy Kimmel’s turn to hustle and host 89th annual Oscars. It’s his first time with the gig and fans have been wondering exactly what kind of tenor he’d set.

So, how did Jimmy do in the Oscars opening number?

Well, after a fun bit from Justin Timberlake, Kimmel took to the stage in a wonderfully self-deprecating way. “I got a sitting ovation!” But Kimmel was ready to get serious and send out a message for people to try and communicate with one another. That segued into a comedic bit between Kimmel and the frequent butt of his jokes, Matt Damon. The pair took a dig at his upcoming film The Great Wall.

But Kimmel was ready to take a swing at the Presidency. “Remember when last year everyone was worried about the Oscars being racist?” But Kimmel went right back into movie jokes that were plenty lighthearted, even making digs about people not seeing a lot of the nominees. But the big joke was calling Meryl Streep an uninspiring actress. “Meryl Streep has phoned it in for over fifty films.” A wonderfully subversive bit of complimenting that had the room applauding for “the highly overrated Meryl Streep.”

And it can’t be missed that Kimmel still managed to end his opening with a dig at our Commander-in-Chief. “some of you will get to come up here and say a speech that the President of the United States will tweet about in all caps!”

As far as kicking things off goes, Kimmel did a great job putting everyone at ease. “We’re gonna have fun tonight.”