In all of the Oscars hype, you could be forgiven for missing the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday. But despite big wins for films like Marriage Story, The Farewell and Parasite, the real highlight of the ceremony was a hilarious performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
Introducing their performance, host Aubrey Plaza told the audience, “While we do have some amazing queer films nominated tonight, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the gayest moments in other films that you may not have realised were gay.”
The singing tribute made reference to J-Lo’s pole dancing in Hustlers, Renee Zellweger’s press tour for Judy and hilariously pointed out that the kid in Marriage Story would probably be gay one day.
But the real star of the show was Laura Dern. Devoting the end of the performance to Dern, the choir sang, “Laura Dern kicking her feet up on the couch, Laura Dern ordering a kale salad, Laura Dern dressed slutty in court, just all of Laura Dern. The tribute was accompanied by images of Dern in a number of her previous performances.
Dern herself was present at the ceremony and can be seen chuckling in the audience at the first mention of her name. As she realised that she was receiving several mentions unlike other actors and actresses mentioned throughout the tribute, she can be seen laughing heartily along with others seated around her. By the end of the performance she was dancing in her seat like the the true gay icon that she is.
And it looks like Dern wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the performance. Fans have taken to social media to share their delight at the tribute. , “Laura Dern vibing at the Spirit Awards is the only energy I’m bringing into 2020.” , “This Gay Mens Choir homage to Laura Dern at the Spirit Awards might be the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
But it wasn’t the only moment of the night that fans loved. After a comical performance during which she joked about almost every A-lister in the room, Plaza told the audience that she loved the Spirit Awards because they recognise “women directors, all two of them.” She then got political, name dropping J-Lo as her fellow “hot Puerto-Rican” in order to point out that Puerto Rico is kind of like an independent film, “it’s beautiful, not enough people have seen it and its financing is always falling through.”
Audiences loved it, and so did social media.
But as the Gay Men’s Chorus showed us, we really appreciate Laura Dern.
