9
Disney +

Well I just loved this.

A romantic comedy with a strong side-serving of workplace satire, James L. Brooks' Broadcast News is an honest, funny and surpringly moving look at three complex, three-dimensional people who cannot seem to get out of their own way. At the same time, the film's portrayal of television news journalism's "crossing the Rubicon", where the news stopped giving people what they need (unbiased information and education) and instead started giving them what they want (vacuous entertainment and unchallenging talking points), is razor sharp. It's death by a thousand cuts- a budget squeeze here, an ethical corner being cut there. There's real sadness and feeling here, a quiet raging against the dying of the light, and as someone who worked in TV journalism himself, James L. Brooks is ideally placed to comment on its demise.

The love triangle at the heart of the film gives Broadcast News an emotional grounding. Hurt, Brooks and, especially, Hunter all bring their A-games here as people who are likeable but have who also flaws, who make mistakes, who sometimes act like assholes and against their own interests. This makes for a story which is at times messy, with characters who don't always act in the way that you want them to act, but that messiness is the stuff of real life, where convenient three-act structures don't apply. What is crucial is that everyone acts pretty much consistently in character throughout (something which romantic comedies sometimes struggle with). Take for example a scene toward the end of the film, where Aaron is out with Jane: stuck in the "friend zone", he is deeply in love with her, but also a bit of an arrogant asshole. So instead of trying to explain his feelings openly and honestly in the Big Speech you might expect at this climactic moment he just clumsily insults Jane, which just drives her away. Most romantic comedies would use this moment as set up for a later romantic reconciliation, but here this is the climax of the story, used to highlight just how much of an idiot Aaron is, and how ultimately he would rather be smart than happy.

It is a film with so many great moments, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, often both. Joan Cusack's epic run to get a tape to the studio on time. The energy and rythmn of a broadcast in full flow (I always love seeing portrayals of competent people doing their jobs well). Aaron's flopsweat attack. Jane's coming in to work early so she can stress-cry. Jack Nicholson's sleazy anchorman Bill Rorish, laughing off a half-hearted suggestion to take a salary cut in order to save jobs at the studio. “You're lucky if you can get out while you can still cry”. Jane ultimately choosing her principles and ethics over romance. The quietly hopeful epilogue. I can't wait to watch this classic again.