Late Night

Written by Mindy Kaling, Late Night follows Molly Patel (Kaling) as she’s hired as a writer on a struggling talk show hosted by Emma Thompson’s stubborn Katherine Newbury – with the movie predominantly detailing Molly’s efforts at proving herself amongst an entirely male (and entirely white) group of fellow writers. It’s a fine premise that is, for the most part, utilized to entirely underwhelming effect by director Nisha Ganatra, as the filmmaker delivers a sitcom-like endeavor that’s rife with inauthentic, hopelessly melodramatic elements – with the narrative’s seemingly foolproof behind-the-scenes bent slowly-but-surely rendered moot by a storyline that grows more and more pedestrian (and obvious) as time progresses (ie The Larry Sanders Show this isn’t, ultimately). The film’s lack of subtlety, which is especially problematic in its treatment of its various characters, paves the way for a hit-and-miss midsection that’s generally more miss than hit, although, by that same token, it’s worth noting that Late Night‘s first half is far more watchable than one might’ve anticipated – with this vibe due almost entirely to the efforts of a stellar cast that does, sporadically, manage to elevate the humdrum material. By the time the entirely ineffective third act rolls around, Late Night has definitively cemented its place as a missed opportunity and flat-out disappointment that could (and should) have been so much better.

** out of ****