Great performances from the three main leads. The story is timely and is paced well.
It was interesting to watch this after finishing THE LOUDEST VOICE just the week before. The latter focuses on Ailes rise to power by building Fox News, and, then, his fall because of his abuse of that same power. This movie looks at the Fox climate, and the systemic abuse of power through the lense of the women. The acting is superb from the whole cast but the three powerhouse female leads are perfection. (I want to take a minute to say that Kate McKinnon finally broke through as a dramatic actor. I had opined, in a review of YESTERDAY, that she needed to find the real people behind her caricatures, and, in this, she did! I knew she had it in her.) This is an important perspective and an interesting movie, which is why I rate this film a 9 (well told) out of 10. [Based on a Real Drama]
Now this is what I call boring and unfulfilling.
Shocking, controversial and based on actual events. An inside look into a media scandal so twisted and so powerful that changed the way we watch the news... Really well acted, a straight-forward plot and brilliant performances by Theron, Kidman and Robbie.
Gretchen Carlson: "A lot of people even women are sceptical of harassment claims until they experienced themselves or know someone who has, let me be that person for you."
I would’ve enjoyed the movie more if it didn’t assume I knew who these people were or what happened to them. Went in for Charlize and Nicole and as always they didn’t disappoint.
Good movie, but not fantastic. Jumping in while the "Me Too' movement is still hot it's like watching something you've already seen before. While I would never condone what men do to let beautiful women "get ahead", let's be honest this has been happening since TV/movies were invented - probably before then with Kings and noblemen etc. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron.
That being said, women are such hypocrites when they specifically wear scantily clad dresses and go out of their way to get a meeting with the top boss only to then turn around and say they were "violated." PLEASE, she knew what she was doing and what was expected. She offered her honor and he honored her offer.
And let's not forget about the number of women over the years that cry wolf only to admit it was a lie - nothing ever happens to them - but they've destroyed the guy.
Interesting watch with great performances from the female leads. Well paced and a different take from the Directors.
Originally watched in the Cinema and I’m positive there are multiple scenes left out when released.
"People don't stop watching when there's a conflict. They stop watching when there isn't one."
Unfortunately that quote above is very true when it comes to media. This movie brings up important topics and it is important to tell these stories. That being said, wish the narrative and pacing was just a little more focused.
Quite an interesting movie and look into the mercyless world of news television. The performances were great overall and Charlize Theron did a great job in the role of Megyn Kelly.
Absolutely shit movie but I like the concept, I can't wait till they make a movie like this about Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein. Definitely bigger and juicier scandals. Or better yet, Jeffery Epstein.
On the surface this film had a ton of things going for it. The actors - Lithgow, Kidman, Robbie and an amazing turn by Charlize Theron (side note - when is she ever going to get the respect that she deserves?). It has a story that is rooted in corruption and sexual scandals. While the movie moves at a fast pace I looked at my watch when I was sure the film had to be wrapping up and saw that it was only half-way done. It's hard reviewing this kind of film because I feel that assigning it a watch-ability rating almost cheapens the importance of the subject matter. And it isn't even that it was slow or not watchable - I was actually enjoying it. It just felt like a much longer movie.
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Thank you for speaking up against workplace harassment and sexual harassment. This film empowers people in similar situations.
Bombshell is like the channels of a basic cable package: gratifying, but I want more.
I live in France and don't watch Fox News so I have only a passing familiarity with the scandal and those involved, but I went in hoping for a film that tore the top off sexual harassment and left me feeling satisfied. While I was certainly content to see the women vindicated, I couldn't help feeling the film was more about the facts than the people behind them. I wanted a moment of solidarity and left with 2 hours of history.
Still, when you look at the cast... Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie (all perfect on their roles), John Lithgow (who's a cheese-y actor because... he gets better with age :joy:), Mark Duplass (who had a small yet impressive turn as Megyn Kelly's husband), the young woman from Santa Clarita Diet (Liv Hewson), the young woman from The Good Place and Barry (D'Arcy Carden)... And then you look at the attention to detail concerning makeup and costumes and you understand the magnitude of what these women accomplished then you realize this is a decent film that holds up its end of the bargain.
Great story that unfortunately ruined by messy directing and untidy execution and not enough dramatic acting
The pace of the film is masterful from the start. I didn't know anything about the case being told and yet the plot is followed very well and the references are understood. The cast is exceptional, three incredible actresses. The film goes by in a flash and it's sad to see it end, you want to keep being told things.
Well acted, although based on facts. it's a pity that most people with blinders on will not believe... and will believe in Trump's fairy tales.
Phenomenal acting from all involved, especially the lead actresses. Didn't know much about the story going into this but I was engaged the whole time.
As a viewer of Bombshell, I couldn't help but feel that it was a total hit job on Fox News. I appreciate the exposure of the claims, however, these actions happen in every news outlet and in all of Hollywood, yet are never made into a movie. There are many scandals in Hollywood and the entertainment industry that are dismissed or never reported. I'm still waiting to see an actual movie based on Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby or Jeffrey Epstein that isn't a documentary. Despite Hollywood's bias, the film does deserve some credit for the spot-on portrayals of the characters, which were excellent. The performances of Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie brought a sense of realism to their roles that was both impressive and compelling.
A well-acted film about the human cost of bullying and sexual harassment
I've seen Bombshell described as a docudramedy – a portmanteau if ever there was one, that essentially refers to a true story (docu) that's half drama (dram) and half comedy (edy). It's a relatively new subgenre that a lot of critics seem to be tracing back to Adam McKay's The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). The stylistic snappiness, unrelenting energy, visual hyperactivity, and editing rhythms that could give you seizures are all present. At least initially. And although it shares a lack of subtlety with McKay's The Big Short, and a lack of factual insight with Vice, Bombshell is entertaining, brilliantly acted, and paints a horrifying picture of workplace bullying and sexual harassment. Sure, it'll be yet more evidence for the right that leftist Hollywood is incapable of partiality, but really, if you're the type of person prone to believing the propaganda machine that is Fox News, what are you even doing watching the movie in the first place?
For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/YoNJ3
They really stick it into your nose on what they are doing here.
I didn't like this adaptation of the story: many pieces of the puzzle have been ignored and the plot was too simplified. Ok, it's a movie, but it could have been better!
I think "The Loudest Voice" has been more accurate in depicting Ailes and Murdoch (barely seen in this movie).
Here too many parts were rushed and I bet people who don't know the real events didn't understand that much...
Incredibly provocative and controversial, Bombshell is a compelling issue drama. While the film purports to be about the Roger Ailes scandal of 2016, it just uses that as a pretext to tell a sexual harassment drama (and to take some knocks at FOX News). Half of the main characters are fictitious and there wasn’t any cooperation from the alleged victims, so there’s no real attempt to tell the true story of what happened. Still, it’s an engaging and evocative story about an important social issue. And the film has a strong cast that includes Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow. Bombshell has some problems, and isn’t exactly fair and balanced, but it presents a chilling look at some of the struggles that women still face in the workplace.
Anchored by three excellent performances from the female leads, this is a powerful film with a message that demands to be heard. That message is, of course, a warning - a warning to those men (and perhaps women too) who exploit their employees for selfish gain. The film isn't perfect - dialogue is a little heavy handed at times - but it's still a must watch, and hopefully an encouragement for others to stand up against their oppressors.
Having been sexually harassed and demeaned at two different jobs, I can only hang my head that I didn't stand up for the women that would follow me. I took it, with all the questions these women did, wondering how I could lessen it, how I could deflect it and how I could save my job and my career and avoid a lawsuit that would effectively end my career. Knowing the men and two women involved would get nice severances and I would never work in my field again was too much to give up. No one, not even the men at Fox news, should have to decide do the wrong thing or lose my job.
It was an important story to tell, but no amount of stars in your cast can make up for a superficial script. This cast and this story with a more ambitious production could have been bombastic, pun totally intended lol
p.s: i am so fucking obsessed with Charlize Theron... she is one of the greatest actors of our generation, but she needs to start getting cast in better movies im begging
An ok movie with fast pace and brilliant perfomances from three beautiful women. 6.7/10
good interpretations, well taken, dare to say it and that affects my career or not, "because you did not say it so that the others were notified", it does not affect me, I do not care ....
The acting in this is fantastic and I was intrigued by the story. The timeline in it was a bit hard to follow for me and at some points it lost my attention a bit. Not a bad movie though, and would recommend watching it.
"Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, Margot Robbie at the top of their game in a solid recap of sexual harassment at Fox News."
Enjoyed it thoroughly, Great performances overall, and yeah Fuck Roger!
Good movie about a very dark time at Fox. Sexual harassment in the workplace and the trials and tribulations of Megan Kelley and Gretchen Carlson. I think you need to be into politics to like this movie hence why I liked it. Great performances by all leading women. A good watch.
Not not a good remake of the Harlow classic.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2020-01-05T17:49:58Z
[6.2/10] Bombshell plays like a second rate Adam McKay film. It has the same direct addresses to the audience, the same straightforward explanation and table-setting for the situation at hand, and the same “period piece for the recent past” vibe of movies like The Big Short and Vice. But what it’s missing is the humor.
In theory, that shouldn’t be a big deal. Institutionalized sexual harassment, the subject of the film, isn’t a laughing matter. But part of what made the artifice of McKay’s more sober films work is that they approached the insane events they cover with a touch of absurdism, a touch of “Can you believe these people?”, that helps make the more contrived or didactic parts of the presentation go down smoother. Even star Margot Robbie’s turn in “I, Tonya” managed to balance the real, piercing emotional toll and topics at play with a certain awareness of the ridiculous.
Bombshell, on the other hand, is a deeply serious film, one that drowns in its own efforts to be an Important Film about Important Things:tm:. It is as breathless as it is airless. So many moments of the film are laden with melodrama and monologues. Despite a vaguely cinema verite approach stylistically (give or take some odd, dramatic zooms), the film has a stagey quality to it, with most of its characters pausing to capital-A Act and deliver conspicuously curated points or exposition about whatever the issue at hand is. For a story about something so real and pernicious, Bombshell almost always feels like it’s holding its story at arm’s length.
Except in the rare instances where it doesn't. Director Jay Roach centers Bombshell around the stories of three women. Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) has conspicuously pensive scenes and corny, dramatic pronouncements as the established anchor deciding whether or not to break ranks and publicly come out against her boss. Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) plays the crusading host, forced out due to sexism, with scores of exasperated close-ups and even direct appeals to the camera. Both cram complex stories into broadly familiar tropes.
But the film shakes off its more cartoonish impulses more often in the story of Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), a young aspiring reporter who dreams of an on-air position and finds herself ensnared in her boss’s harassment to get there. It’s in this story and this story alone that Bombshell dials into something more real.
There’s genuine camaraderie and complexity to the relationship between Kayla and her secretly-liberal-and-lesbian best friend at Fox News, Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon, who all but steals the show), as both balance legitimate empathy with the need for self-preservation. Robbie plays the shock and hardship of her position with piercing truth. And in the scene where the film depicts Kayla’s harassment is also its realest, scariest, and most uncomfortable. That sequence, where Kayla is forced to submit to her bossess’s perverse, powerplay whims, feels gross and and frighteningly true in a way so little of the rest of the film does.
Part of that comes down to the performances. The cast is star studded, with even the bit parts fulfilled by a who’s who of outstanding character actors. But since most portray real life individuals, their turns are often reduced to impressions or exaggerations. And even those that don’t have the cheesiness of speechifying and Oscar reel oratories with the players making very obvious and loud acting choices that takes the punch out of whatever true emotion they’re trying to convey.
The exceptions mostly come down to Robbie (who still suffers from some of the film’s monologism), McKinnon, and strangely enough, John Lithgow as the odious Fox News impresario Roger Ailes. If there’s any character in this film liable to come off so over-the-top that he almost floats away, it’s Ailes -- the paranoid, perverted, power-grabbing news gremlin who’s made so many of these women’s lives a living hell. But Lithgow, acting under an impressive set of prosthetics, somehow manages to make this man as bombastic and repulsive as he ought to be, while also making him seem like a real human being with his own self-justifying delusions and terrifying impulses. The film’s most dramatic villain is, strangely, also one of it’s most lived in performances.
But every actor in the film has to overcome the script. Eventually the film coalesces around decisions among its three main characters over whether to come forward about Ailes’s harassment. But until that point, it stumbles around as a series of vignettes organized around a theme more than any sort of unified narrative. Meanwhile, the film is trying to explicate that theme with overtly didactic dialogue, grand speeches about What This All Means, and lingering shots of the characters’ daughters that all but scream “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!” at the audience.
The film’s message -- about workplace harassment and the institutional rot that preserves it -- is a noble one, but also one lost in those choices. As a dramatized piece of quasi-journalism, it lacks punch to anyone who’s read even the barest of headlines about this situation over the past five years. As an effort to persuade, it suffers from the fact that 95% of people liable to even see the film most likely already agree with its points. As an effort to preserve this moment and this fight for history, it falters by only glancingly grappling with the bile that personalities like Kelly and Carlson spewed on a regular basis before joining this crusade.
With that, Bombshell feels like a high class T.V. movie, one that hopes it can wow you with its over-the-top presentation, celebrity performances of known personalities, and nod-worthy arguments. Occasionally, it grazes profundity and drills down into something real. But for the most part, it holds the audience’s hand through every theme, performance, and emotion in the piece, with a dour realism that belies its clearly dramatized presentation of these events.
There’s few laughs, if any, to be had about powerful creeps wrecking the lives of the women beneath them. But when Bombshell adopts the McKay approach in telling this story, it misses that key ingredient which makes the more constructed elements of McKay’s movies work without eliciting eye-rolls. Without it, Roach’s attempt at the same without that wry lens comes off more like an on-the-nose, visual essay so scared that its audience won’t understand its blaring ideas and argument that it practically has characters announce them, and misses the core tragedy and realness of what its subjects suffered in the process.