Here we have The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards as it says in the title of course too, so the 2022 edition of this event could take place with audiences again. I have reviewed many awards shows in the past, so why stop now!? I will just do some brainstorming as always with these and say what stayed in the mind, what I liked, what I disliked etc. This one ran for slightly under 100 minutes, which is a pretty appropriate duration I'd say. It felt neither too long nor too short, well maybe slightly too long, but this had more to do with the content of the show and because it almost never felt like a smooth watch. There was once again the usual opening with the "My name is XY and I am an actor" parts and I still kinda like that. They should keep it for the next editions, maybe even give is another two. This event will surely take place many more times in the future. However, the exact contents did not win me over too much this time. The guys from Succession at the start were okay, Culkin at least, Javier Bardem was amazing with a beautiful tribute to his deceased mother and also his siblings. Elle Fanning is an actress I liked in previous films, but how she (with the help of a kissing anecdote) elaborated on being a natural when it comes to acting was cringeworthy. And finally there were the three folks whose ethnicities give Hollywood a warm heart I guess and they weren't too funny either, so I am glad they did not host the show as you could think given the introduction and how they entered the stage afterwards. They only returned at the very end and they kinda reminded of the Three Caballeros or whatever they were called with cartoon Donald and the other poultry fellas from many, many decades ago. So much for the start.

Let's move on to the awards and look at the film categories first: Supporting actress is pretty much a decided race this awards season you could say. It's interesting DeBose is really sweeping, but then again Black actresses dominating this category is nothing new at all. Also good for Spielberg who is really adding to his success with directing actors to huge wins now, something he had to wait for for a long time. Plus quite an achievement that it's the same character that won Rita Moreno an Oscar back then. Supporting actor winner was Troy Kotsur from CODA and this basically equals the race between him and Smit-McPhee, even if I still feel the young guy could prevail at the Oscars. The SAG generally did not throw too much love at The Power of the Dog if you look at the Ensemble Cast nominations and even if four is not a lot, you could have made a case for Cumberbatch, Smit-McPhee, Dunst, Plemons and maybe one or two more. KODA also ended up the big winner there. Lead actress is truly wide open now. Chastain is an actress I sometimes like, sometimes not so much and now she also a factor in the race competing mostly against Kidman and Stewart. The latter was sadly missing here from this awards ceremony. No love from her peers. A bit of a pity for sure, but I really hope she can win the Oscar. It will be a challenge, but we shall see. I still hope maybe the BAFTAs like her Ladi Di portrayal enough to raise her chances again, even if she is not a British actress. As for lead actor, Will Smith is comfortably the front runner now. I do not like it at all. Those guys talking as if Richard Williams was an icon or legendary character feels bad enough already, but Will Smith is just not a particularly good actor to be honest. The irony of him being nominated together with the great Denzel Washington, perhaps the greatest ever Black actor, and Smith probably getting the Oscar is a mess to be honest. I hope Academy Award voters will rethink and make the right choice. Cumberbatch isn't a much better choice either admittedly. Of course, the King Richard team now also got Venus on board, so people forget they did not even want Richard at the set. Not surprised at all. The only somewhat positive thing I can say is that at least Smith is not even half as unlikable as his wife.

Let's look at the television categories now: Kate Winslet winning is the usual again. I liked her a lot once, but almost nothing is left for me there. She always feels so artificial and that includes her introduction to Helen Mirren too. Or introduction to Cate Blanchett introducing Helen Mirren I could also say. What was up with that anyway? Strange inclusion there with two people introducing and as one was just pre-recorded anyway from Britain, they also could have left her out completely. Then also, I would not have had to hear those overly dramatic words how sad she is that she cannot be there. Helen Mirren also feels a bit questionable to me as a lifetime achievement award winner. I mean yes she has The Queen and a few more solid performances and films, but I feel there are many others I would call more deserving. Her acceptance speech was also so-so, but then again almost no acceptance speech was truly breathtaking. The exception was maybe Michael Keaton's (hopefully) sincere and pretty emotional tribute to his deceased relatives. Succession won a big category too, but they shared the love and the acting categories interestingly went to Squid Game and this I liked a lot. Especially the female winner gave a really heartfelt speech I think and she seemed genuinely overwhelmed. Many interpreters needed that night with the deaf fellas and also of course with Squid Game. I really wonder if we will see a lot more in international productions from the two Korean winners. On the comedy side, only Jean Smart could briefly interrupt the Ted Lasso domination. No surprises here really. So yeah, Keaton was definitely a highlight with his win. I thought he was not even around because he took so long to enter the stage. Yeah sure Salma Hayek has stage fright... And I am the Emperor of China. She was/is enjoying every second in the limelight. Later on, it seems as if somebody, I think it was Oscar winner Matlin, forgot Streep was on the stage already. I must say I struggled a bit with how they were clapping in sign language. It did feel over the top and not too authentic. It would also be cool if we could finally stop talking about minorities, but just honor their achievement as equals. That would be true tolerance.

One of the funniest moments from the show was Martin Short mentioning a fresh Botox injection. Selena Gomez's take there not as great. Shows you why only the two old guys from that show were nominated. As for the sad moments, you could mention quite a few for different reasons. Fran Drescher I read some really, really liked her, but for me it was the exact opposite really. Maybe the worst moment of the show and really turns my interest to watch her show from almost 30 years ago now pretty much down to zero. As for the in memoriam segment, it was okay, but could have been more touching. I did not know Full(er) House's Bog Saget had died. Pity. Many other fallen there of course too. The one that probably most still remember is Betty White who came oh so close to 100 before entering into eternal sleep not too long ago. But many other big names too. I did not like how some felt really rushed like Ulliel. I think all of them also deserved a slightly better introduction. In general, you could wonder why some of the presenters were there. The selection did feel a bit random admittedly. You will know which ones I mean when you see them. Rosario Dawson for example. Steinfeld I forgive them because I really adore her. Strange outfit though. Neither particularly sexy nor fashionable from my perspective, but what do I know.

Finally, of course it must be mentioned that there were many references to the ongoing war in Ukraine. I generally do not like it at all if politics become a subject at these shows. Or anything other than the awards to be honest. War is still more drastic than people elaborating on the pandemic or the American presidential election as it happened in the past, so it is at least a bit understandable, but it would just be so nice to come up with a single edition of this show or pretty much any awards show that really focuses on the event at hand and nothing else. Or at least in this case also tells us about the soldiers from Russia that are forced to go to war. There's definitely enough and victims are not exclusively from Ukraine. I had some hopes when actually Brian Cox gave it a different approach, but yeah, even if it fits the SAG Awards, the fates of Russian actors also seem secondary these days, even if maybe they shouldn't. That is all now I guess. Helen Mirren was kinda funny with her little sag joke, Oscar Isaac is always nice (even if Chastain was too over the top),Lisa Kudrow is great, but had poor material, Lady Gaga was awful again, the adult film joke was okay, especially with the Meryl Streep reference etc. Oh and please, even if it's good to keep it essential, finally stop shutting out the stunt performers. Really disrespectful and there are no two opinions. Either remove the category or let them in. That is it then. Overall, this show gets a thumbs-down from me. The poor is definitely more frequent than particularly good moments, even if it could have been way worse too admittedly. Only watch if you are a huge awards show follower like myself.