At the screening where I saw "Bombshell," there was a guy behind me who viewed the proceedings on film as if it were the seventh games of the NHL Stanley Cub finals. He was verbally reacting with excitement as some of the characters got their punishment for dirty deeds. Clearly, he was not a fan of Fox News.
Herein lies the good and bad attributes of a movie like "Bombshell," which is allegedly based on real events. It was appealing to the clown behind me because it was equating all conservative viewpoints as bad and evil and guilty of sexual harassment. Little does this idiot realize but those dastardly acts of conducting business are widespread. Indeed, they are committed by both sides of the aisle. In Congress. In media companies. In practically all businesses.
Now, while my interest was held all the way through by "Bombshell's" story and particularly its acting, the movie is incredibly flawed. As you may well know, it's all the horrible (and now dead) Roger Ailes and his penchant to use some "questionable" methods to build the talent pool behind the Fox News Network. Much of this story was found in newspapers over the past four years. It is well documented. But, as I watched it all, I began to wonder just what was the source material used by screenwriter Charles Randolph to tell his story. Was there a book? Or a magazine article? Or an "as told to?" Did he interview a lot of the real people in the tale?
From what I could find out post-movie, no. Most of the action behind the headlines was speculation. Conversations that could have happened. He pretty much laid out the events as they might have happened.
And I thought about the dope behind me who probably thought he was watching a documentary.
I contrast that with the Clint Eastwood film "Richard Jewell," which has gotten a lot of bad press because of its unflattering portrayal of the print media. Some call that movie stilted. Yet, it is based on a magazine article and source material that has been proven to be accurate.
And that's why you can't always view these movies "based on true events" as gospel. Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, whose "character" is the virtual star of "Bombshell," has admitted that the film has lots of inaccuracies. She should know. She lived it.
But, the good thing about "Bombshell" is that it presents a story that needed to be told in concept. Sexual harassment is a serious business today and the more it is exposed, the better we will be. For that, we can salute director Jay Roach for bringing it to the screen. Of the cast, Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie do good work in getting the audience to care about their plight. While their "whistleblowing" characters are well drawn and realistic, Roach hurts his film by taking a cartoon approach to the rest of the people involved in the story (Richard Kind as Rudy Guiliani??!!).
So, at its conclusion, I neither loved or hate "Bombshell." A true example of flawed cinema. And this didn't likely matter to the dummy behind me.
Now, if you're talking about really good source material on the sexual harassment issue in media companies, let's hope somebody has the chutzpah to make a movie based on Ronan Farrow's book detailing the shenanigans of Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer at NBC News. There is a lot there, for sure. And is the perfect validation that this issue straddles both conservative and liberal sides of the fence.
And why do I think the guy behind me won't go see that one?
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: Leftover chili.
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