A movie about writing for a late night comedy show, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling? Sold. I had high expectations going into this film, and it did not disappoint. How could it? It stars freakin' Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling.
Late Night is about an aging late night talk show host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) who is going to lose her show because she refuses to keep up with the times. She has no idea who anyone is on her writing staff, hates social media, wants to interview Doris Kearns Goodwin instead of an Avenger, and is apathetically coasting along until she is put on notice by the new network president (played by powerhouse Amy Ryan). In an effort to shake things up, Katherine tells her producer, Brad (the wonderful Denis O'Hare), to hire a woman into her all-white male writer's room. When Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) shows up, she gets the job, despite having no experience except for the lifelong dream to work on the show. What follows is a tale of a woman trying to prove she isn't the token diversity hire and her cantankerous boss who needs to figure out how to foster a less toxic work environment and get her mojo back.
I don't quite know where to start with this movie because it has so many delicious little sub plots and moments, and reams of feminist dialogue that felt so familiar because they reflect the conversations I have with friends and colleagues all the time but never see represented on screen. Written by Mindy Kaling, the entire movie is a brown feminist manifesto about the challenges women, and particularly minority women, face when they're the only person who looks like them in a room. Katherine Newbury faced the uphill battle of being the very first female late night talk show host, and she considers herself to be a staunch feminist. Yet, as her writer's room reveals, hers is the old-school feminism of bringing yourself up by your own bootstraps, instead of pulling up women alongside you once you make it to the top. Molly Patel is the whirlwind that challenges her, forcing her to reassess and get with the times.
Lest we forget the men, the always magnificent John Lithgow plays Katherine's husband, Walter, and the dynamic between those two characters is pitch perfect as they undergo their various trials and tribulations. We also have Hugh Dancy and Reid Scott playing two of Katherine's writers who get entangled with Molly in a deliciously Pride & Prejudice-esque fashion that made me squeal with suppressed glee when I recognized what was happening. This movie takes some serious turns, but when it's light and romantic, the DNA of Kaling's old TV show, The Mindy Project, certainly peeks through.
This movie is all about the central Emma Thompson performance. I simply cannot imagine what it would be like without her. She is at the peak of her powers in this role, both as an actor, but also as a style icon - I came away wanting her haircut and every single suit she wore. Her character is put through the ringer in this role but Thompson cycles through those emotions effortlessly. Kaling is her dynamic best, playing a hyper-competent but still fallible woman who keeps up a relentless optimism to achieve her dreams. Unlike Katherine, you never get much backstory to Molly and what led to her comedy ambitions - it feels like there must have been more information there, but it got cut out, which is a shame. The movie does feel a bit choppily edited at times, and while a short run time is always a blessing in a comedy, I think we could have certainly sat through a few more minutes, especially to meet members of Molly's family and experience some more of her Indianness. However, if I were writing a movie starring Emma Thompson, I can see how I might get sidetracked to give all the screentime to Thompson and have none left over for myself.
Late Night is brimming with ideas and you could watch it multiple times to discover moments you had missed before. The casting is pitch perfect, with every actor playing to type (or sneakily subverting their type) in refreshing ways. The cameos are plentiful, the costumes are gorgeous, and a ton of the scenes in New York City were literally filmed four blocks away from my house along the street I walk past to work everyday. As a brown lady who can only aspire to Kaling's greatness, Late Night is wish fulfillment of the highest order, and I hope she has many more scripts waiting in development. Till then, I'll keep walking along the street Kaling walked on and whisper, "I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
I don't quite know where to start with this movie because it has so many delicious little sub plots and moments, and reams of feminist dialogue that felt so familiar because they reflect the conversations I have with friends and colleagues all the time but never see represented on screen. Written by Mindy Kaling, the entire movie is a brown feminist manifesto about the challenges women, and particularly minority women, face when they're the only person who looks like them in a room. Katherine Newbury faced the uphill battle of being the very first female late night talk show host, and she considers herself to be a staunch feminist. Yet, as her writer's room reveals, hers is the old-school feminism of bringing yourself up by your own bootstraps, instead of pulling up women alongside you once you make it to the top. Molly Patel is the whirlwind that challenges her, forcing her to reassess and get with the times.
Lest we forget the men, the always magnificent John Lithgow plays Katherine's husband, Walter, and the dynamic between those two characters is pitch perfect as they undergo their various trials and tribulations. We also have Hugh Dancy and Reid Scott playing two of Katherine's writers who get entangled with Molly in a deliciously Pride & Prejudice-esque fashion that made me squeal with suppressed glee when I recognized what was happening. This movie takes some serious turns, but when it's light and romantic, the DNA of Kaling's old TV show, The Mindy Project, certainly peeks through.
This movie is all about the central Emma Thompson performance. I simply cannot imagine what it would be like without her. She is at the peak of her powers in this role, both as an actor, but also as a style icon - I came away wanting her haircut and every single suit she wore. Her character is put through the ringer in this role but Thompson cycles through those emotions effortlessly. Kaling is her dynamic best, playing a hyper-competent but still fallible woman who keeps up a relentless optimism to achieve her dreams. Unlike Katherine, you never get much backstory to Molly and what led to her comedy ambitions - it feels like there must have been more information there, but it got cut out, which is a shame. The movie does feel a bit choppily edited at times, and while a short run time is always a blessing in a comedy, I think we could have certainly sat through a few more minutes, especially to meet members of Molly's family and experience some more of her Indianness. However, if I were writing a movie starring Emma Thompson, I can see how I might get sidetracked to give all the screentime to Thompson and have none left over for myself.
Late Night is brimming with ideas and you could watch it multiple times to discover moments you had missed before. The casting is pitch perfect, with every actor playing to type (or sneakily subverting their type) in refreshing ways. The cameos are plentiful, the costumes are gorgeous, and a ton of the scenes in New York City were literally filmed four blocks away from my house along the street I walk past to work everyday. As a brown lady who can only aspire to Kaling's greatness, Late Night is wish fulfillment of the highest order, and I hope she has many more scripts waiting in development. Till then, I'll keep walking along the street Kaling walked on and whisper, "I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
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