He may have had the right idea! Ben Affleck was noticeably absent from the 2014 Oscars Sunday night in L.A. Instead of sitting through the (extremely long!) three-hour show with wife Jennifer Garner, the Gone Girl actor later joined his leading lady at Vanity Fair's after party in West Hollywood. See more pictures of the couple at the party.
"Ben and Jennifer walked in looking incredible," an onlooker told Us of the married couple of eight years. "They stopped to chat with Chris Messina and [his wife] Jennifer Todd."
Garner, 41, looked beautiful in a silver Oscar de la Renta gown for the evening. She accessorized the sparkling ensemble with an Oscar de la Renta bag and Forevermark jewelry. She presented at the Dolby Theatre hours earlier, and was also on hand for her small role in Dallas Buyers Club.
Affleck, for his part, had a much more low-key awards season compared to his incredible Oscar victory in 2013. Last year, the 41-year-old actor took home the Best Picture Oscar for Argo (which Mindy Project's Messina also starred in.) Despite that Best Picture honor, Affleck was famously snubbed in the Best Director category, but picked up an award for his directing at the Critics Choice Movie Awards.
At the Vanity Fair bash, the parents of three were joined by other Hollywood A-listers, including Kate Hudson, Jared Leto, Amy Poehler, Kerry Washington, and Lupita Nyong'o. The pair ended up leaving around 1:30 a.m.
"[They were] trying to leave but Ben got entirely distracted because he saw Chris and Liam Hemsworth," the eyewitness told Us. "[He was] saying something that was making Liam turn bright red and Chris was dying of laughter. Ben walked away but then turned around twice and projected himself into their conversation and it was just hit after hit."