Irreverent MTV Movie Awards honor Will Smith, Melissa McCarthy, ‘The Force Awakens’
The make-out session between celebrities, the abundant profanity, the potentially viral antics onstage — these are what make the MTV Movie Awards the MTV Movie Awards, and for the 25th anniversary show that aired Sunday, executive producer Casey Patterson tried to ensure the signature shenanigans were pushed to the next level.
The DNA of the show has long allowed viewers to see celebrities “letting their hair down” and reeling off what Patterson called “a really maverick, subversive and funny take on Hollywood, movies and celebrity culture.” And this year’s show, taped Saturday on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, carried on the tradition just fine.
Co-hosts Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, who costar in “Central Intelligence,” due out later this year, entertained more than 4,000 fans who gathered under darkening skies outside on the lot.
“It was supposed to be pouring rain, but Mother Nature knew they better not … with us,” Johnson said after he and Hart ascended the stage in a fashion that evoked “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Hart and Johnson riffed on pop-culture moments and films from the last year, most notably Leonardo DiCaprio’s encounter with a bear in “The Revenant.” And as usual, the show provided an outlet to showcase clips from the most anticipated movies of the summer. This year, live theatrical productions were staged around the footage. In the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” bit, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne entered the stage through a briefcase. Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and Cara Delevingne assembled to present the “Suicide Squad” clip.
As for the awards: Queen Latifah and Halle Berry presented Smith with the Generation Award for his career achievements. “I want all of you to know I am dedicated to being a light in this world,” said the actor, recently star of “Concussion” and part of the #OscarSoWhite debate. He added later: “I just want all of you to know I am dedicated until the day I die to light and to love.”
Comedian Melissa McCarthy took home the Comedic Genius Award, the first woman to do so. She used her speech to thank the female comedians who came before her, including Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin and Lucille Ball.
The two-hour show took about three hours to tape. Among the moments that joined the annals of MTV Movie Awards history: a very involved smooch between Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine, the “Pitch Perfect 2” stars who won for best kiss; a pantsless Alexander Skarsgard paying homage to his “Tarzan” character; and stirring performances by Ariana Grande and Halsey.
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At the show’s end, Hart and Johnson made a final plug for their upcoming film and joked that it would sweep next year’s MTV Movie Awards.
“We’re basically going to be the ‘Titanic’ of 2017,” Hart said, before making another joke about getting intimate with a bear “just in case.”
Then, like clockwork, fireworks shot into the sky and thousands of blue and red lightsabers waved in the air to celebrate “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as movie of the year.
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