BROADCAST NEWS. Directed, written and produced by James L. Brooks for Twentieth Century Fox. Starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. Rated R (language, nudity).
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One reason Broadcast News is getting so much publicity lately is because it's about the media. And these folks like dissecting their job, and talking about that dissection, more than any other group of professionals that I know about.
But the movie is also very good, so at least some of the hype can be taken seriously. It's well-acted, extremely funny and full of interesting, provocative comments on the state of big-time news broadcasting. The main focus, however, is on the characters and their relationships, and the serious philosophical questions don't weigh down the comedy (or the melodrama).
Hunter, who was so good as the not-too-bright baby-napper in last spring's Raising Arizona, is equalIy impressive here as the intelligent workaholic Jane, a network news producer. Her energy makes it somewhat exhausting to watch her, but she's very appealing and we're sympathetic to her from the start.
Hurt's role here is a departure for him in a way, because he usually plays intelligent, often even "brainy" types. Tom, aspiring news anchorman, is the opposite kind of guy. But his character is complex, and here is where Hurt's considerable acting talent really makes Tom work. He is appealing, likeable and pleasantly vulnerable—in addition to being dim-witted, unethical and opportunistic. It's quite a tricky combination, but Hurt doesn't seem to have any trouble with it.
Brooks is as funny in Broadcast News as he usually is, which is very funny indeed. But, as a nice surprise, he also makes an engaging romantic hero. Somehow, in amongst all the so witty one-liners that make up most of his conversations, he manages to create an agreeable, believeable James Stewart-type of character.
Broadcast News is very much like director/writer/producer Brooks' last movie, Terms of Endearment (although, I hasten to report, no one dies in this one). In spite of its comments on such weighty issues as the declining intellectual content of the news, it is still really a "small" picture, with emotions and relationships at center stage. And its mix of comedy and melodrama, with scenes that are both funny and sad, is a lot like the 1983 movie. Whether Broadcast News will be as successful at the box office and at Oscar time is anybody's guess right now. But it has a good chance at both.
NOTE: this movie made my 10-best list for 1987.
January 13, 1988