""Bombshell" has its heart in the right place, I'll give it that. But there's something about this film that doesn't quite strike home for me on quite a few different levels. The directing is only so-so; the pacing is a little weird; the writing is pretty heavy handed (something I already expected going in, but it exceeded my expectations as far as heavy-handedness goes), particularly when it came to dragging Trump into this affair (don't get me wrong, I don't like the guy, but this film went out of its way to continuously include him in the story); and the fictionalized portions of the story, most of which revolve around Kayla (Margot Robbie, "The Wolf of Wall Street") and her in-office, closeted lesbian, friend Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon, "Yesterday"), feel pretty farfetched and silly, and that sort of detracts from the overall message the film is trying to send. At the same time, the true portions of the story were interesting, and I learned a bit; I thought all of the actors did a fine job; and, as I said before, this film's heart was in the right place: it is trying to forward a feminist workspace, and I think that's a very good thing.
While I was watching this film, however, I couldn't help but constantly wonder who this film was made for, because there were certain sections of the movie that were so heavy-handed it felt like I was watching a Christian film like "God's Not Dead", but instead of the creators building towards a sort of altar call they were shouting for Fox News to change its ways. The hard-rights- the people that wholeheartedly believe that Trump is right 100% of the time, that he has a God-given right to be president, the ones that listen to Fox News and believe whatever they say is 100% right 100% of the time- those are the kinds of people that really need to see this movie, because those are the hearts that need to be changed. The problem with this movie is that it is so blatantly attacking Fox News, Trump, and everyone in that establishment in such a naked way that anyone who might benefit from hearing that criticism will almost certainly avoid this movie. Yes, Robert Ailes (played by John Lithgow, "Raising Caine") was a bad guy, and yes, Fox News needed to change its work atmosphere, but this film certainly wouldn't change anyone's mind whom wasn't already willing to have it changed.
While I was watching this film, however, I couldn't help but constantly wonder who this film was made for, because there were certain sections of the movie that were so heavy-handed it felt like I was watching a Christian film like "God's Not Dead", but instead of the creators building towards a sort of altar call they were shouting for Fox News to change its ways. The hard-rights- the people that wholeheartedly believe that Trump is right 100% of the time, that he has a God-given right to be president, the ones that listen to Fox News and believe whatever they say is 100% right 100% of the time- those are the kinds of people that really need to see this movie, because those are the hearts that need to be changed. The problem with this movie is that it is so blatantly attacking Fox News, Trump, and everyone in that establishment in such a naked way that anyone who might benefit from hearing that criticism will almost certainly avoid this movie. Yes, Robert Ailes (played by John Lithgow, "Raising Caine") was a bad guy, and yes, Fox News needed to change its work atmosphere, but this film certainly wouldn't change anyone's mind whom wasn't already willing to have it changed.