They're giving comedy a rewrite.
2019-01-25
$4.0M
102 min
A legendary late-night talk show host's world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline.
Is ‘Late Night’ a perfect film? No. It could have used a few tweaks in the edit suite, and a couple more on the page. Yes, the “woman”, “women in comedy” and “woman of colour” angles are pushed and pushed hard - but then again, isn’t that what the movie is about? Nothing is too in-your-face or shoved down your throat, but you will notice it as these are things you don’t often come across in cinema (or ever). I just would have preferred if Kaling’s character had the personal and professional résumé to be right as well as just righteous, but that’s just me. Either way, she’s great and holds her own against the dynamo force that is Thompson, relishing in her element as a smart, powerful female with a mean streak. ‘Late Night’ is definitely worth the privilege of our time.
Read Jess' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-late-night-the-ladies-of-comedy-have-come-to-make-waves
This had the potential to delver quite an insightful look into the workings of a late-night talkshow, but regrettably this opportunity was largely wasted. Emma Thompson plays the role of host "Katherine Newbury" well, but her character is pretty unlikeable and probably deserves for her tired old show to be cancelled. Mindy Kaling's "Molly" is the new kid on the writing team with the nouse to reverse the decline and re-establish her boss as a success, but again her persona doesn't really engage either. Sadly, the film is completely devoid of humour and aside from the few scenes with John Lithgow, is pretty unremarkable. Perhaps not quite meritorious of the "privilege of your time".
