By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Starring: Emma Thompson | Hugh Dancy | John Lithgow | Mindy Kaling
Country: united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 102
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6107548/reference
Thom says: “I had rather high expecta tions for this film, but still was thrilled at how much I enjoyed it. Director Ganatra has had lots of television experience, but previously her features were lackluster. But a great (if cookie-cutter) script and a thrilling ensemble cast bring this home from the start. Emma Thompson who’s been a great actor from the start when I first noticed her in her husband-at-the-time Kenneth Branagh’s HENRY V. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with her consummate craft & talent & her numerous awards & accomplishments are far too numerous to go into here. But one thing that can’t be denied is that as she’s gotten older she’s gotten better to the point that she must be talked of in the same rare atmosphere of a Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, or Helen Mirren. Here she plays Katherine Newbury, a late-night talk show host of great acclaim with scads of important awards, whose long-running hit show is on the skids rating-wise. The network CEO (a perfectly bitchy Amy Ryan) hates her and can’t wait to axe her and put in an Andrew Dice Clay-like host instead. Criticized for having no female on her comedy-patter-writing-group, on a whim Katherine hires a young woman, Molly (Mindy Kaling), with little experience except for a few stand-up tries. I discovered Kaling from her fantastic comedy series “The Mindy Project which I started watching due to the presence of must-see Beth Grant. Kaling not only has a brilliant turn here as the psychologically battered intern but she wrote the charming script as well. This is one of those it’s always darkest before the dawn type of films, as Katherine is very hard to work for, as she fires people at the drop of a hat, and it takes too long for her to appreciate Molly’s talent, and a messy office romance surfaces, that almost destroys the beautiful relationship that she has with her husband who has non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Hugh Dancy does a fine job as a sleazy comedy writer. While the film is mostly predictable there is a great wa rmth of understanding of the characters and appreciation of their vitality. 5 cats“