Broadcast News

For me this wonderful rollercoaster of a film bears repeated pleasurable viewings. Its about the tangled lives of three very different people. Holly Hunter is the obsessive workaholic producer. Albert Brookes plays the unprepossessing but brilliant journalist. William Hurt is the affable but dumb new kid on the block, news anchor.

The classical love triangle emerges with the stunningly witty and self deprecating Brookes in love with Hunter but she of course is attracted to Hurt.

This film works on many levels. At the very least it is a brilliant comedy with the one liners flying so thick and fast that each viewing bears a new harvest of ones that you may have missed last time. Its also a film about attraction and unfulfilled romance.

But perhaps most importantly the film examines the modern obsession with physical appearance and its ultimate triumph over intellect as a valued human attribute. This is personified by the meteoric career success of the Hurt character in contrast to Brookes relative decline.

Despite being fifteen years old the film has some startingly relevant messages about modern news values and the continuing decline in journalistic standards.

This film is a classic in every sense and it is difficult to understand why it has been so neglected

James L. Brook is one of those directors who always seems to take a quirky look at life. He isn't only the producer for "The Simpsons," he has some classic comedies under his belt -- "Broadcast News" is one of them.

Although it doesn't match his later effort "As Good As It Gets," "Broadcast News" is still a very clever, funny and witty movie about a television broadcasting station and all the problems they suffer. There's a great comedic sequence of physical humor where Joan Cusack is running around the building trying to rush a news tape to the editing room in a matter of mere minutes before it is to be broadcast live on TV.

This isn't only very truthful in terms of how hectic broadcasting stations are operated, but also a skillful and honest portrayal of human beings.

A low-key, subtle movie with good acting (especially from Hurt, who I don't always like so much) and apt direction.

It's been over 20 years since I've seen this film. Like others on this site, I lament how 'forgotten' it is. I remember liking it a lot, but found it to be absolutely terrific. The writing and direction are first-rate, but I cannot remember seeing three interwoven performances as good as these. It's easy to minimize Hurt's work because his character is the least likable of the three. That would be a mistake. Hurt is wonderful here and leaves us wondering if maybe he's not as dim as he appears to be. Hunter and Brooks, on the other hand, just shine. This is career defining work for all of them. The ending (which I won't reveal here) is powerful in the least-clichéd way possible. The movie has aged very well. See it if you can - either again or for the first time.

BROADCAST NEWS marks the first time I saw Holly Hunter and I was mesmerized at her focus, quickness, passion, and finally her eccentric prettiness and sex appeal. The movie is hers from start to finish, and makes the 'love triangle' subplot almost unnecessary. She's so smart in the film (a rarity for a lead female) that you almost think if her only romantic choices are William Hurt's style-but-no-substance anchor or Albert Brooks's neurotic but intellectually arrogant reporter, she'd be better off with Robert Prosky. Though I can best relate to Albert Brooks (the guy who loves the smart, alluring girl who only sees him as a 'brother'), he still ticked me off a bit. My favorite scene in the film is him pouring his heart out to Hunter on a front porch confessing his love, then taking her by surprise and kissing her romantically (the only time he gets the chance). When he goes petulant later in the story, it's a bit hard to take. Fortunately, the James Brooks script and direction are a joy throughout, culminating in two perfect scenes: one with Joan Cusack unraveling seconds before a tape feed, and a marvelous 360 (?) pan thru the studio showing a live news feed from producer to anchor in one shot.

Essential viewing for anyone who watches TV news as it may help to become a little more sceptical, or even cynical. On a personal note I recall taking a course some years ago about being interviewed for TV - what to do, what not to do. The course instructors impressed on us that TV news was a "branch of show-biz". That depressing view, which is probably even more valid today than when it was made, is reinforced by this film. Never mind journalistic integrity, what counts is the ability to look good and smile nicely. And make sure you don't sweat on camera.

The interactions between the three main characters form the centre-piece, each with his or her own ambitions, capabilities and beliefs. Brooks takes these differences and sets them into the volatile setting of a TV news studio, and adds more than a pinch of love interest to the mixture. The result is a complex, if somewhat overlong, portrayal of how we compromise every day in order to meet our ambitions and take others with us. It is always entertaining, although the final scene was, perhaps, unnecessary given everything that had gone before.