Bombshell movie review

MOVIE TITLE:     Bombshell
RATING:    R
LENGTH:   1 hour, 49 minutes
Movie Review Mom GRADE:  B+

IN A NUTSHELL:
This powerful movie is FULL of Oscar-worthy performances.  There are two very timely movies in theaters right now that address the power and unethical use of coverage of the media. This film is one of them and the other is RICHARD JEWELL.

Bombshell features a fantastically talented cast that includes three Oscar winners and two Oscar nominees: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Allison Janney, John Lithgow, and Margot Robbie.  While liberal leftists will gleefully laugh at the conservative Fox setting that implodes in the movie, the film is less about politics and really more about sexual harassment that occurs on both sides of the political aisle and in almost workplace.  For Hollywood to be “fair and balanced”, how about a similar movie about the Harvey Weinstein scandal?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• Kids will not be interested in this movie, nor should they watch it.
• Profanity, F-bombs, crude language
• Specific descriptions of inappropriate sexual relations under duress.
• Two lesbians in bed.
• Women are objectified in many ways.
• Lots of cleavage, tight clothing, and sexy leg shots.  You see one woman lift her dress up to her crotch.

THEMES:

• Sexual harassment
• Loyalty
• Workplace politics
• “Someone has to speak up. Someone has to get mad.” – Gretchen Carlson   (Nicole Kidman)
• “We fight tomorrow’s fights tomorrow.” – Roger Ailes   (John Lithgow)
• “How you treat people you disagree with says everything about you.” – Gretchen Carlson

THINGS I LIKED:

• Academy award-winning prosthetic makeup artist Kazu Hiro and the entire makeup team deserve another Oscar nomination and possible win for the incredible transformation they made on all of the cast members to look like the real people they portrayed.  Charlize Theron and John Lithgow completely disappeared.  Their performances were especially impressive.
• While Margot Robbie’s performance is excellent, and IT IS, her character wasn’t based on a real person but created more as a combination of women who experienced the same sexual harassment at work that others did in the Fox TV building.  She spoke volumes with her face and body language.  Her powerful moments will make your heart break as her naivety changes to shock and horror.
• I adore Allison Janney in anything she does.  Her Oscar winning performance in I, Tonya was outstanding.
• You see some footage from real moment on TV shows and on the news.
• The movie reveals what sexual harassment feels like from a woman’s point of view.
• Quite a few fun cameos.
• Kate McKinnon offered an interesting side character as a liberal lesbian in a conservative world.  There were so many small details and nuances with her character, as well as others throughout the entire movie.
• Fun facts:  The movie takes place at Fox News in New York City, yet was filmed in Los Angeles.  Did you know they filmed the movie Die Hard on some of the floors of the Fox building while they were still building it for corporate offices?

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Choppy editing.
• The “4th wall” is a film term used to describe an actor talking straight to the audience.  Every now and then, some of the characters break that 4th wall, which completely changes the tone of the movie and didn’t match the rest of the movie.
• There are some scenes that jump back and forth in time, which might confuse some viewers.
• An element I would have loved to see the movie explore was how Roger Ailes’ wife reacted when she discovered what a complete slime-ball he was.  That was a missed opportunity and would have added another layer of depth to what women endure.

FUNNY LINES:

• “Frighten, titilate.” – Jess Carr   (Kate McKinnon)
• “Ask what would scare my grandmother or piss off my grandfather, and that’s a Fox story.” –  Jess Car
• “Sushi’s not liberal food.” –  Edie   (Madeline Zima)

INTERESTING LINES:

• “Bimbo. I hate that word.” – Megyn   (Charlize Theron)     “It means you’re too smart to be sexy and too sexy to be smart.” – Julia Clarke   (Brigette Lundy-Paine)
• “It’s only crazy until it happens. And it happens.” – Roger Ailes
•  “Bullying isn’t meanness. Bullying is people with more power hitting people with less.” – Roger
•  “These Jack-A…have have cell phones. You have a F’n TV show.” – Roger
•  “There’s a reason for clear desks.” – Megyn
•  “I’m discreet but unforgiving.” – Roger

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@TrinaBoice