BOMBSHELL is one of this year’s entries. (There are actually a few others.) It’s a very watchable movie with enough star power to light the marquee. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow are all wonderful. And the movie’s heart is in the right place (these movies always are). Sexual harassment in the workplace has gone unchecked for decades and victims have suffered with no recourse. Happily, the tide is beginning to turn. But this movie fails to score a bullseye.
First off, it would have been better if Aaron Sorkin wrote it. Charles Randolph’s screenplay was fine but never really popped. There were never any scenes where verbal fireworks occurred. Very smart people in power is Sorkin’s wheelhouse and he’s pretty much set the bar for what crackling dialogue in that arena should be. This screenplay was serviceable but never fun. And never surprising. I don’t think I learned anything I didn’t already know.
The thing that makes this genre so satisfying is when the bad guys really lose. Woodward & Bernstein brought down a corrupt US President. But in BOMBSHELL, Trump is portrayed as a scumbag, FOX NEWS is unconscionable, and Rupert Murdoch is evil personified. And at the end of the movie they’re all still there. They’re all still in place. So Roger Ailes is brought down. That’s nice, but FOX NEWS continues just as loathsome as before. The women we’re supposed to be rooting for – Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly – they were happy to spread the insidious Fox propaganda for their own fame and fortune. So it’s hard to stand up and loudly cheer for them.
Seems to me a more effective movie would be to show the damage that sexual harassment in the workplace causes. What are the residual effects? How do the victims cope? What is the collateral damage? All of that is glossed over.
Gretchen Carlson was courageous for blowing the whistle on Roger Ailes. After she would not comply with his sexual overtures she was exiled to a crappy time slot. But what if Ailes hadn't demoted her? What if she knew this Ailes behavior was rampant but she kept her coveted time slot? Would she still have come forward? So was this lawsuit to stop sexual harassment or payback for ultimately being fired?
SPOILER ALERT (but you know the story): Megyn Kelly only goes public when she determines it’s safe for her to do so. (So in a sense she WAS Gretchen Carlson if Carlson wasn’t demoted. She said nothing for years. At least one character does call her on that.)
And these were the HEROINES! Not exactly Erin Brockovich.
Jay Roach’s direction is slick and well-paced. But BOMBSHELL was like watching IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE without the final reel so the movie ends with everyone miserable in Pottersville.
I think this is the third movie about FOX and sexual harassment. Can't wait for the movies about Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Tom Brokaw, and Harvey Weinstein.
ReplyDeleteYep, you might get a Weinstein though....
DeleteYou think they would make a movie on Harvey Weinstein?
ReplyDeleteNaaah.... Hollywood is a cozy little town.
Irony:
Don Simpson always fucked the actresses of his movies. That was his "auditioning process" mentioned by many books and something that all insiders know.
And Nicole Kidman's big entry to Hollywood was a Don Simpson movie.
Will she speak up now?
Saw this the other day:
ReplyDeleteKathy Bates on MeToo: 'In my day, if you went to a guy’s hotel room, you knew why you were going.'
Too many women use sex to get ahead and then cry harassment.
Well, Hollywood held off making a movie about sexual harrassment in the media, despite having so many examples of it close to home to draw from, until they found a target that EVERYONE in Hollywood hated anyway. There is no shortage of actors and writers ready and willing to savage Fox and anyone involved, so much so that they couldn't even make the victims unqualified Victims. (They DID CHOOSE to work for Fox, right?)
ReplyDeleteBut criticize Weinstein? Moonves? NBC? "Hell, I've got to WORK in this town, are you crazy?"
"The Morning Show" on Apple TV does a good job with this topic. I especially recommend the flashback episode. They take their time building there characters and relationships, and the actors do a good job in roles that are different than you're used to.
ReplyDeleteOff topic but this is a refreshingly optimistic outlook by Ricky Gervais. I especially like that it talks about acceptance instead of tolerance when referring to others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmTV62mE1PA
ReplyDeleteIf the longstanding rumors about Kirk Douglas and Natalie Wood are true, is it too late for him to get his Time's Up moment, or would vilifying a 103 year old be deemed unseemly?
ReplyDeleteBalancing self interest with the greater good is at the core of humanities problems. One school of thought is that religion was invented to keep people from only acting in self interest.
ReplyDeleteYou hit it on the nose about Carlson only coming forward when a bad time slot cost her money. That wasn't heroic, it was selfish.
In my opinion that is the difference between (R) and (D) politicians. Generally Republicans only work for their own self-interest and Democrats, try or at least pretend, to work for the greater good.
To Carol, Mike & Daniel - Have you considered the reason we haven't seen a movie about Harvey Weinstein yet is there is no third act (yet) ?
ReplyDeleteKen said “ Seems to me a more effective movie would be to show the damage that sexual harassment in the workplace causes. What are the residual effects? How do the victims cope? What is the collateral damage? All of that is glossed over.“
ReplyDeleteRalph says “Those questions are answered better with a documentary”. Is there a documentary on this subject?
No. It wouldn't be better if Aaron Sorkin wrote it. However, it would be different. More verbose.
ReplyDeleteM.B.
John Lithgow's sinister and overpowering portrayal of Ailes should have landed him an Oscar nomination. The movie revolves around him; it's a shame the Academy didn't agree.
ReplyDelete> Can't wait for the movies about Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Tom Brokaw, and Harvey Weinstein.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing about that: Fox is still gung-ho about the out and proud proponent of sexual harassment: Trump. They don't care at all. His supporters don't care at all. They only talk about Lauer, Brokaw and Weinstein because they want to pretend liberals are just as bad. But Trump supporters still love him and his rapey ways.
Very smart people in power is Sorkin’s wheelhouse and he’s pretty much set the bar for what crackling dialogue in that arena should be.
ReplyDeleteBut since this is about Fox News, it doesn't involve very smart people.
Ba-dum, tsss!
Thank you, I'm here all week, try the linguine.
Charlize Theron looks so much like Megyn the trailer is eerie.
ReplyDeleteApparently, there's a fight between Megyn and Gretchen about who's the star of the film.
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ReplyDeleteRoger Ailles is dead and unable to sue. The rest aren't. That's why there's a Roger Ailles movie and there isn't a Weinsten or a Lauer movie.
ReplyDelete