Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Director: Jay Roach
Quick Impressions:
My dad loves Fox News. He watches it all day long. Before I wake up, he watches on the big TV downstairs. Then he switches to his laptop which he leaves open on the end table beside him even when we’re all watching something else on the TV.
I despise Fox News. It agitates me to the point that my outbursts could be mistaken for my audition for WWE.
To be fair (and balanced) though, I have to admit that I hate all news. When I was pregnant with my now four-year-old and spending more time downstairs at conventional hours, my parents eventually decided to switch to Headline News as a courtesy to me. But then I started to get irritated by that, too.
Finally they switched to some show about a newsroom that wasn’t even real starring Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer. That was much better (for me). Unfortunately, they soon decided they didn’t actually like that show much and switched to Downton Abbey. That was fine. Now that my son is around, Dad puts on stuff like Puppy Dog Pals or Sesame Street, which is even better.
So I prefer to read the news (and to leave the TV off as much as possible), but because Fox News is such a fixture in my life, I was extremely curious about this movie. I’m sure even people who don’t watch Fox News remember the sexual misconduct scandal that ended in the ousting of Roger Ailes. (I mean, that was covered on other networks.)
Bombshell also got my attention because of its amazing cast. Charlize Theron (more believable as Megyn Kelly than Megyn herself), Nicole Kidman (playing the most sympathetic character, Gretchen Carlson), and Margot Robbie as fictional, composite character Kayla Pospisil! My husband, in fact, first happened upon the trailer months ago. And when we watched it together, I realized, “Hey and there’s Kate McKinnon! And isn’t that Abby from Santa Clarita Diet?” Yes. It’s Liv Hewson. Then I started to follow all the awards buzz. When Bombshell got nominated for SAG ensemble cast, I decided it was a must see. What a cast, too! John Lithgow is amazing as Roger Ailes, and we also get Alison Janney as his lawyer, Connie Britton as his wife, Holland Taylor as his secretary, Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch, and Mark Duplass as Kelly’s husband. The cast is as endless as the 24-hour news cycle itself!
The Good:
Director Jay Roach has made a lot of movies you don’t typically associate with the Academy Awards. I haven’t seen many of them. I’m not sure I’m crazy about the ones I have seen. Unlike most people, I never really warmed to Meet the Parents, but I did like the first two Austin Powers movies (sort of).
But if Peter Farrelly and Adam McKay can make Oscar movies, why not Jay Roach? (He’s already directed one Oscar nominated film. Bryan Cranston was nominated for Best Actor in his Trumbo, a movie I missed because my son was an infant.)
The screenplay is written by Charles Randolph, who co-wrote The Big Short (which I liked) and also wrote The Life of David Gale, a movie which made a huge and lasting impression on my husband.
Before seeing Bombshell, I had heard multiple people call it this year’s Vice. If you ask me, it is a much, much stronger film than Vice. (It reminded me more of The Big Short, and now that I see they share a screenwriter, this makes perfect sense.) I liked Vice, but largely because of great performances by its cast. Bombshell features great performances, too, but it seems to have a clearer idea what to do with them. And as the audience, we always understand what kind of a movie we’re watching and how we’re supposed to react.
In fact, going in to Bombshell, I was prepared for a much messier film than I saw. This is a pretty conventional movie, a clear cut, well acted story that’s easy to follow. Yes, we get occasional narration and some surprising fourth wall breaks, but nothing too jarring and certainly nothing confusing.
It’s no surprise that Theron, Kidman, and Robbie are fantastic, but I was surprised by how much I liked John Lithgow as Roger Ailes. Of course, I love John Lithgow in general, but this is a really strong performance. I worry that Lithgow may get overshadowed by his female co-stars or even his own (outstanding) make-up. He’s so good as Roger Ailes that for a while I started to like Ailes (which is…weird given that the movie is about him being an opportunistic sexual predator. I assume it’s Lithgow’s charisma that won me over.)
Of course, is Megyn Kelly a sympathetic character? Charlize Theron is almost certainly getting an Oscar nomination, but does anyone like Megyn Kelly? I’m genuinely asking. I’ve stopped keeping up with her. I know my parents don’t like her anymore, and it seems like every ten seconds she’s alienating a new group of allies, usually by saying something crazy about what color people’s faces should be.
Well, you know, I like Megyn Kelly, but not because I find her admirable. I just think she’s interesting and fun to watch. “Is this just math that you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better?” That question made my night back in 2012. When we saw President Obama had been reelected, my husband and I switched over to Fox News for confirmation and were treated to Megyn Kelly wandering the hallways, which was by far the best thing I had seen on any news channel that night. I used to love Megyn Kelly so much back in those days because I was always involuntarily seeing Fox News, and she was the only one I liked watching. (For the record, I also found Brit Hume and Shepard Smith largely unobjectionable, but keep in mind that I was always trying not to listen to them. Chris Wallace also gets a pass from me since he sounds like his father. Greta Van Susteren has a cool first name.) I must be honest, though. Part of the reason I liked watching Megyn Kelly was that she’s attractive (though I was less interested in her legs than in her audacious personality).
I don’t have feelings about her one way or the other. I do sort of believe what I heard her say about herself once, that she does not think of herself as conservative or liberal, but as a journalist who wants to report the news. (To express shock that people want to label you as a conservative when you become famous working for Fox News is clearly a disingenuous move, but I very much get the impression that Kelly’s focus is on her own personal career.) In this film, the Kelly character says, “I’m not a feminist. I’m a lawyer.” Weirdly, despite her central role, this film does not leave Kelly looking exactly great. Maybe that’s why some viewers have found the film’s narrative confusing. The movie is against the sexual abuses of Roger Ailes, but it’s not exactly pro Megyn Kelly. It shows how powerful men mistreated her, yes, but it also leaves us with the impression that she might have stood by Ailes if he had helped her more when Trump kept attacking her. Megyn Kelly in this movie could be read as a hero making a hard choice, but to be honest, she looks like more of a shrewd opportunist. Theron’s imitation of her is fantastic, though. Great acting, great make-up.
For me, the only truly virtuous character in the mix is Nicole Kidman’s Gretchen Carlson, who manages not only to resist Ailes but to entrap him, making her both “virtuous” and clever. (I put the “virtuous” in quotes because I do think the movie wants to shame people who may have gotten ahead by giving in to the sexual advances of Ailes. The young, composite character Kayla is forgiven, but the older women who were preyed upon, said nothing, and received career advancement are viewed as complicit and even denounced by Kayla herself.) In this case, I am sure it is the movie’s writing and Nicole Kidman’s performance that make me look so favorably on Gretchen. I do remember the real Gretchen Carlson because my mom was always asking what had happened to her, and my dad was explaining that she’d gotten her own show at a different time of day. I recognize her actual face. But I am positive it is Kidman (and the movie’s structure) that is making me root for her so much. Kidman’s performance may be my favorite in the film.
Both Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon play fictional characters, composites of multiple Fox News employees. I found Kayla a very exasperating character in some ways, but Robbie’s performance is fantastic (though I personally think she does stronger work in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I know people will say I’m crazy, but I’ll defend that stance when I post about my favorite movies of the year). Kate McKinnon is also quite good, playing a dramatic role for once.
Best Scene:
My favorite part is absolutely the late talk Ailes has with his lawyer, when she asks if she’s sure he wants his wife there.
Best Scene Visually:
Charlize Theron looks just like Megyn Kelly in this movie. That’s its most memorable visual. Some of its other visual highlights are used in the trailer–the three stars in the elevator, the paparazzi photographing the child.
I also found the women’s faces on the screen as they described the earlier abuse by Ailes quite powerful. Lithgow makes Ailes charismatic, but what that last woman says!
Best Action Sequence:
The first time Kayla visits the second floor, you feel her discomfort.
Most Oscar-Worthy Moment, Charlize Theron:
What a chameleon! I am stunned by how closely Theron manages to resemble Kelly, and her voice is pretty good, too.
Theron really made me feel her conflict about “betraying” Roger, who had advanced her career and given her solid and helpful advice despite being a sexual predator. It was weird that I was so taken by this theme in the story. I’ve been giving Lithgow the credit, but maybe Theron deserves some credit there, too.
Her impression of Kelly is flawless throughout the film, but I think the scene when she talks aloud with her husband about whether she should turn on Ailes is my favorite.
Most Oscar-Worthy Moment, Margot Robbie:
I find it difficult to like Margot Robbie’s character, but I can’t fault her acting. I even liked her performance as Queen Elizabeth I, despite finding that film’s take on the character bizarre (though suggested by a historian) (with whom I disagree, his credentials notwithstanding).
The moment in Roger’s office is so uncomfortable and sad, and her phone call to Kate McKinnon’s character later is heartbreaking.
Most Oscar-Worthy Moment, Nicole Kidman:
I personally want more than five actresses to get Best Supporting Actress nominations for their work this year, so I have no idea how things will actually play out. But I’ll tell you one thing. Kidman was robbed of a nomination for her lead performance last year in Destroyer. Her marvelous work there was strong enough to win, and she didn’t even get a nomination.
Here she is given the enviable task of playing the movie’s most sympathetic character, the hero who gets to win by outwitting the self-impressed person who looks down on her.
She’s really good as Gretchen Carlson. I personally love her frustrating one-on-one moment with Margot Robbie’s Kayla.
The Negatives:
There is something slightly off about Charlize Theron’s voice. It’s like she has more of a Megyn Kelly accent than Kelly herself has. I’m not hugely bothered, though because she sounds absolutely nothing like Charlize Theron.
Margot Robbie’s character frustrates me. Kayla is blindsided initially, but then she makes a choice. Afterwards, she blames it on Megyn Kelly! If only an older, established woman had tried to help her! But Gretchen did try to help her, and she blew her off because she wanted to work for the people with real power. Also, Kate McKinnon’s character essentially tells her what a toxic work environment the place is early on, but she doesn’t care until something happens to her.
Maybe that is one thing that feels off about the movie to me. There is something kind of gross about this “composite” character that smacks of misogyny in the telling. She is a total innocent who is turned so quickly because she believes in a corrupt system. Gretchen Carlson (a real woman who is known to sue people) looks strong. Kayla (created by a male screenwriter) looks like a damsel in distress who makes poor choices and blames her decisions on other women because she just wants the approval of men so much. I think she’s a poorly conceived character, though I think Margot Robbie is a phenomenal actress who does a superb job with the material she’s given. What I may be seeing is a contempt for the whole way of thinking at Fox News. Kayla believes in a worldview that does not protect her and ultimately screws her over. That probably is it. The filmmakers hate the abuse of women, but they hate Fox News more. I think too much is packed into this one character. I wish we could have seen one real woman’s story instead, but I do realize going that route may have been legally impossible.
Otherwise, I liked the movie. Some might wish for a more thorough critique of Fox News itself or more focus on Donald Trump’s cyberbullying of Kelly, but that’s really not what the movie is about, and that was fine with me.
Overall:
I loved watching Bombshell with its deep cast and stellar performances. I found its story focused, fascinating and (for the most part) well told. It is surprisingly less politically charged and contentious than you might imagine. It really does focus mainly on the take down of Roger Ailes for being a decades’ long sexual predator, and I think we all agree that pressuring women into having sex to keep their jobs is wrong.