Late Night Review
R: Language throughout and some sexual references
Amazon Studios, FilmNation Entertainment, 30West, Imperative Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, Kaling International
Director: Nisha Ganatra | Screenwriter: Mindy Kaling
Run Time: 1 Hr and 42 Minutes
Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Denis O'Hare, Reid Scott, Amy Ryan
Release Date: June 7, 2019
Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is a pioneer and legendary host on the late-night talk-show circuit. When she's accused of being a "woman who hates women," she puts affirmative action on the to-do list, and -- presto! -- Molly (Mindy Kaling) is hired as the one woman in Katherine's all-male writers' room. But Molly might be too little too late, as the formidable Katherine also faces the reality of low ratings and a network that wants to replace her. Wanting to prove she's not merely a diversity hire who's disrupting the comfort of the brotherhood, Molly is determined to help Katherine revitalize her show and career -- and possibly affect even bigger change at the same time.
Mindy Kaling is no stranger to workplace comedies. She was a cast member on what is undoubtedly the most popular workplace television series in the world, and also one of the head writers. Over the course of her career, Kaling has become a household name and an influence for a lot of writers. She wrote over a dozen episodes of The Office, then created her own TV series and got to finish it! Now, she has written and produced her first feature, called Late Night, a film I’d been trying to see since January during Sundance. Every time I would go out of my way to catch it, I was either too late to the screening or something else got in my way. At long last, I have finally seen it and I enjoyed it.
Right off the bat, something that the film nails perfectly is the environment of an entertainment room and the frantic and endless rush of energy that comes with it. I used to intern at an entertainment web series and that vibe in Katherine Newbury’s writing room is the same energy that was present at the place I used to work at. Long before she even wrote for The Office, Kaling actually used to work at a late night show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as an intern. In an interview with O’Brien, she described herself as a "less of a 'make copies' intern and more of a 'stalk Conan' intern.” That description of her younger self is bottled up and channeled into her character, Molly, who is this nimble, energetically optimistic, and inexperienced super fan of Newbury’s who becomes a diversity hire as one of the writers of her late night show after she’s accused of being a misogynistic woman because her writing staff is comprised of middle-aged white dudes.
Unsurprisingly, Late Night’s key strength is Kaling’s script. You can feel the inspiration and Kaling’s career experiences through the screenplay. From the manic brainstorming of jokes and ideas in the writers’ room to the hypocritical inner workings of the entertainment industry that is shielded from the people and masked under progressiveness, the screenplay hits raw and honest points and applies some smart and relevant commentary that should be addressed about the workplace. I even liked how some of the commentary about being a diversity hire is executed early on as Molly finds herself in competition with a writer’s younger brother to win the gig, which makes you question if being a diversity hire is worse than being a nepotism hire. The answer is obvious, but it’s rightfully addressed.
Besides Kaling adding commentary throughout the script, the dialogue is outrageously funny. The comedy is the major force of the film and it’s genuinely funny. Most of the comedy roots from the differences in personalities, from Molly’s persistence to Katherine’s ruthlessness, and whenever the camera is set on the two, the movie is at its best.
Without a doubt, Emma Thompson is fantastic. She has always captured power and no-nonsense intimidation throughout her career. She’s ruthless, mean, and mad with power and it’s so damn irresistible to watch. She is scary and powerful and I love her. Emma Thompson is a boss and that bitch. For me, she’s Nanny McPhee, and I see Katherine Newbury display some of that as a character. Emma Thompson will always be Emma Thompson. She’s always a force of nature as an actress. So, it comes as no surprise that she’s fantastic. Most of what works for her is her comedic timing and the chemistry she shares with Kaling.
During Sundance, Late Night was one of my top priorities to watch. Out of the 22 movies I saw there, this was the one that I missed… countless times. Every time there was a screening of Late Night, there were always scheduling conflicts that prevented me from seeing it. Even on my final -- FINAL -- day of the festival, I spent nearly $30 traveling to and from my Airbnb to a theater in Salt Lake to see it. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, it was already sold out and I had to go back to my Airbnb… after wasting $30. Now that I’ve seen it, I want to go back in time and kick myself in the ass for attempting all those times.
The best way to describe Late Night is as if Kaling was unable to sell another workplace sitcom and wrote this film as a proof of concept that somehow got made because of her name.
If you bottled up something that was supposed to be an entire season of a fun workplace comedy with subtext into a movie, this would be it. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is enjoyable and often funny, but the major issue that it bears is how much Kaling’s script attempts to tackle multiple relevant issues but never having the guts to develop them. The film comments on topics ranging from being a diversity hire to the Me Too movement, and they’re treated as comments rather than commentary in the midst of a fairly predictable crowd-pleasing comedy.
Mindy Kaling is hilarious and a smart writer. Since this is her first feature screenplay, it’s quite disappointing how a film with so much potential to be a smart social commentary is thrown to the wayside. They’re all used as plot devices that either set up the story or enforces conflict, and in most cases they’re fairly disjointed. Whenever it takes the time and presents the opportunity for characters to address the hypocritical and ever so evolving change in the industry, the film runs in the other direction and I’m shouting:
Avoiding any moments of boldness to instead deliver light humor and a mediocre narrative you’ve seen countless times comes across as stale and somewhat trite. What makes up for it are the actors who provide strong performances. Director Nisha Ganatra does a solid job making sure her cast delivers, but the film doesn’t go beyond a television production comedy.
A lot of the elements regarding how fast-paced it attempts to be makes the overall narrative feel both mediocre and disjointed. Because of its variations of social commemorative themes, the film carries one too many subplots that serve the overarching narrative little purpose aside from emotional baring that never feels quite earned.
That said, if you’re able to ignore the lack of depth within its messages and focus on the humor and the actors’ performances, you’re bound to have a good time. The film, similar to Kaling’s past works, showcases both the strengths and weaknesses of her writing all at once. Believe it or not, I used to be obsessed with The Mindy Project for two seasons when it aired on FOX, but once I noticed the drastic shift of quality with the series’ writing, I fell off and this kind of does the same. Late Night is a decent display of the amount of greatness Mindy Kaling is capable of as a feature screenwriter, and I would love to see more of her works. I just wish that she had honed in on having something powerful to say and balanced it with her sharp wit. She could truly create something remarkable some day. Until then, this is just a regular good ol’ crowd-pleasing comedy to watch at home with your friends with a bottle of chardonnay.
Late Night may have way too many predictable elements with a narrative that tries to juggle way too many relevant themes, lacking any form of insight, but the ensemble’s charismatic performances and Kaling’s sharp wit holds the film up as a fun time overall.
Rating: 3/5 | 61%
