Award shows are so back—at least for me. Tuesday night’s Las Culturistas Culture Awards may have single-handedly revived my interest in the snoozefest TV genre that is now best consumed the morning after via red-carpet slideshows and bitchy tweets. The LCCAs are the insane, beautiful brainchild of Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, hosts of the magnificent podcast Las Culturistas. Like its podcast foremother, the LCCAs were stupidly funny: There were categories like “In This House, We Believe In” Award for Best Yard Sign. The nominees were an unhinged mix of actual things and abstract concepts, all unbound by logic or chronological order (two Miley Cyrus songs were nominated for Song of the Summer; neither song came out this summer). And while the show has been described as a “comedy show that masquerades as an awards ceremony,” the LCCAs felt more relevant than any award show in recent memory, celebrating the psychotic melange of people, places, trench coats, and ideas that are actually shaping our culture.
Of course, the basic appeal of the show is that Yang and Rogers are actually funny. Turns out letting charismatic, funny people be in control of something produces great TV… Who would’ve thought! Yang and Rogers’ presences throughout the show stood in sharp contrast to the victory lap vibe we’ve come to expect from most award show hosts. When they ended their opening monologue by performing “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga, it didn’t feel like half-assedly singing for their supper; Yang and Rogers were whole-assedly singing from their hearts.
Sure, you might ask why they performed a months-old Lady Gaga song instead of something original, written about and for the night? And the answer is obvious: Because this is more FUN. Do we really need to see another award show host sweating through some corny ass tap number that ends in Somewhere Over the Rainbow and a reflection on the magic of the movies? Fuck no, we do not.
That number was on theme for the evening: The entire night was about pure fun, regardless of something’s cultural relevance. And by that I mean, there were jokes about the TV show 24 (which ended in 2010 when the hosts were in their late teens). “Jeff Goldblum’s chest–Jurassic Park” beat AI for Most Amazing Impact in Film. All of these references are in service of the overall bit; awarding a “cultch” statue to whatever Rogers and Yang think is cool or funny was the whole point of the night.
It’s also exactly what our culture actually looks like. Our whole lives are asynchronous; somewhere in the world right now, a friend group is just starting to watch Game of Thrones, as if it’s 2011. Plus, the incessant rehashing of old IP means that Jeff Goldblum’s chest from 30 years ago is eternally relevant (praise be), because there is forever a new Jurassic Park on the horizon that must be promoted.
If this is making it sound like Tuesday night was super deep, I promise you it wasn’t. Ana Gasteyer accepted the Jamie Lee Curtis Award for Gusto, Enthusiasm and Individuality in character on behalf of Womencrafts Provincetown (a real store in Provincetown, Massachusetts, whose website now features a pop-up touting the award). Andy Samberg won the “Creatine Award for Straight Male Excellence—a comically flawless moment.
In the few places where the show approached intentional sincerity, it was still inventive and entertaining. Kristen Wiig presented Allison Janney with a real lifetime achievement award, and Janney’s many iconic roles were recreated in a live, interpretative dance montage. It was obviously insane, but also somehow a fresh tribute to an actor as versatile as Janney. In her speech, Janney referred to the LCCAs as “probably her favorite award show” she’s ever attended (she’s won seven Emmys). I don’t think she was kidding.
There were so many other highlights: a quick iPhone video of Brandi Carlile saying she couldn’t make the show because she was taking a pregnancy test. Lucy Dacus joining the hosts onstage to sing “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” during the “In Absentia” montage, which mourned the celebrities who passed (on the show). How about Ben Platt singing Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi” like an emotional angel? In a parallel universe, this moment was sincerely conceived of by a junior publicist and accidentally went viral, humiliating everyone involved. Today, it will probably go viral on purpose. (And if going viral on purpose isn’t the peak of contemporary American culture, I’m not sure what is.)
Look, the LCCAs are not the Oscars. No one’s life’s work in cinematographic excellence was being honored last night. Other award shows are more serious because the subject is more serious. I’m not sure how many giggles you can get when you’re presenting an award to The Brutalist. But like, at least the Golden Globes could take a few notes from the evening.
At the start of the night, Yang and Rogers declared that “all TV should be a gay fever dream.” And though they were semi-kidding, gay fever dreams have always been where our culture begins. It’s about time we celebrate that.
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