A late-night talk-show host suspects that she may soon lose her long-running show.
Actress and Emmy-nominated writer Mindy Kaling stars along with Emma Thompson in a comical take on the “Late Night” entertainment world. To describe this unlikely duo as oil and water would be a colossal understatement.
Kaling plays Molly, a resourceful chemical plant worker who not only wins an essay contest but also understands the nature of her parent company’s ownership of media properties well enough to snag an interview for a job as a comedy writer – despite her anorexic-thin resume in the business. Thompson, as Katherine Newbury, towers as a demanding British talk show host, whose halcyon days of fame and glory are long gone. Lauded with aging Emmys and other past awards, Newbury struggles to remain relevant while fending off simultaneously hip and crass up-and-coming talents more likely to draw Millennial viewers.
The model for Newbury feels very much like a hybrid of counterparts with which audiences will be familiar. In this case, sort of a cross between Ellen DeGeneres – with the trendy outfits, affable on-screen persona, and shoes Elton John might don – and another Brit like John Oliver or perhaps South African Trevor Noah. Oliver and Noah, for example, tend to pursue more cerebral approaches to comedy than many of their contemporaries.
In the background, Newbury’s writers develop the set-ups and gags for the boss’s ruthless consideration. Oddly, the writing team constitutes the least-diverse array imaginable – a bunch of young white guys, so initially obnoxious, one might legitimately wonder how they got hired in the first place. Yet somehow they survive in an insecure profession where any of them can and do get fired at the drop of a hat.
Denis O’Hare leads the team and acts as a buffer between the staff and the mercurial, demanding Newbury, who by the way, does not work or play well with other women. This lack of diversity provides the opening through which Molly sneaks in in order to break into the business. Not surprisingly, her start is slow and fitful, though as a quick study, she inevitably finds her groove.
Tom Campbell (Reid Scott) writes the monologues for Newbury and enjoys his position at the top of the pecking order. The assemblage of writers includes Hugh Dancy, Max Casella, Paul Walter Hauser, John Early, Luke Slattery and others who round out the motley crew constantly endeavoring to keep the creative juices flowing. So many faces line the table that Newbury dispenses with first names and instead assigns each of them a number.
Issues of race, gender, nepotism, and general diversity all figure prominently into the storyline throughout. Perhaps most interesting, these timely issues weave nicely across generational lines as well, which tees up much of the conflict. Talent agent Billy Kastner (Marc Kudisch) aggressively hawks his rising stand-up star Daniel Tennant – a suitably smug Ike Barinholtz – representing the new breed of comics taking a run at the old guard often by pushing the envelope, not always successfully. This back and forth forms the basis of one of the film’s more compelling themes.
John Lithgow plays Walter Lovell, a distinguished professor emeritus married to the much younger Newbury, now in the twilight of his life suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He fills in nicely as Newbury’s confidant and mentor. Amy Ryan as president of the network reveals the plight of entertainment executives who find themselves probably under as much pressure for ratings as the on-air talent.
Several real-life personas in cameos provide welcome touches of realism to the production playing themselves. The list includes household names such as Seth Meyers, Bill Mahar, and Jake Tapper, among others.
Though competently directed by Nisha Ganatra, the narrative approach taken by “Late Night” moves strictly by the numbers – formulaic in its pacing and structure. Kaling’s breezy script feels like an extended television episode adapted to the big screen – satisfying popcorn fare, but hardly groundbreaking in terms of content and writing.
In theaters Friday, June 7th
