Movie #20 2020: Bombshell (2019)

I’ve read a review for this movie in which the writer describes his verdict as “embarrassed for all involved”. Calm down, sailor, that’s very dramatic

What’s intriguing about the above is that many reviews of Bombshell only include such statements when they’re written by men. Go figure. (And if you wanna go ahead with your NOT ALL MEN comments, this movie wasn’t made for you. For once).

Although the first half of the film isn’t the most gripping thing I’ve ever seen, it throws the viewer down a dramatic whirlwind eventually, and the subject matter is so important. However, the movie does trip over it’s own feet by focusing too much on the men behind this scandal for too long, despite John Lithgow giving yet another brilliant performance. You may or may not know that Bombshell was directed by a man, so maybe a Greta Gerwig (or any female director for that matter) adaptation of this movie would have been more successful creatively. Nevertheless, Jay Roach manages to iron out some of these creases by the end.

With the same writer behind The Big Short, this movie has drawn comparisons to the former. All I can say to that is: are you blind? This movie is much easier to follow, and you definitely don’t need to Google any of the shit they say. TBS was packed too full with terminology and penis-led waffle that it managed to avoid being entertaining unless Steve Carrell was on screen. Also, there’s much less dick-swinging in this (for want of a better phrase), and that’s something a lot of women – myself included – love to see.

I’ve also heard a bunch of criticism about how Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon played characters pieced together by an amalgam of real women, rather than them playing specific real-life people. But they’re a lesbian couple in this which was unexpected, so I really appreciated them as a subplot. I have no shame.

As a final note: that Hair & Make Up Oscar was so well deserved. I mean, damn.

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