Grade: B-
Does 2016 feel like a lifetime ago to anyone else? A lot has happened since then. I was reminded of this while watching Bombshell, a film that takes place in early-to-mid 2016. It’s a few months in the life of Fox news, particularly the sexual harassment scandal involving Roger Ailes, hauntingly played by John Lithgow – looking like Dan Aykroyd’s elderly judge in Nothing But Trouble. The main players are Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), and Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie). Robbie’s character never really existed. She’s a composite of a few different people, much like Jared Leto’s character in Dallas Buyers Club.
It came as no surprise to me to learn that the screenwriter was Charles Randolph, who also wrote The Big Short. Bombshell has a similar rat-a-tat-tat deadpan playful tone, with some fourth-wall breaking, and not much of a score. It also made me think of Spotlight, The Contender, and Network, if that gives you an idea of the feel. Performances are effective, especially for a movie where a lot of actors are playing a lot of real-life people who are still alive. It can be a slippery slope, but nobody goes overboard into an exaggerated SNL impression. I wonder how Megyn Kelly feels about Charlize Theron playing her – not to mention how she feels about this movie, period – but Theron, a Best Actress nominee, is perfect here. The makeup department certainly did her a lot of favors, but she nails Kelly’s tone, physicality, and speech patterns. It was very easy to forget that it was Theron. I never watched much Gretchen Carlson, but Kidman is quite fun to see. As the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed millennial, who is about to get a rude awakening with Lithgow in his office, in the film’s most uncomfortable scene, Best Supporting Actress nominee Margot Robbie shines as usual. Supporting performances including Allison Janney as Susan Estrich, Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch, Richard Kind as Rudy Giuliani, and especially Kevin Dorff as Bill O’Reilly all make impressive impressions without feeling too impressiony.
The occasional use of real footage with footage of the actors playing the characters spliced in is seamless. Jay Roach (Trumbo, Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents, the Austin Powers trilogy) is a director I’ve admired for a good 20 years who has yet to steer me wrong. When all is said and done, Bombshell is fine if not all that exciting or remarkable. Most of it seems to take place indoors, under flourescent lights or studio lights – and as I said, there’s not much in the way of music. It can sometimes feel mundane and routine, like being at work, but having a good day at work.
Grade: B-
Film Reviews by Mark 
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