An average movie

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Emma Thompson and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, while I was watching the damned thing, I discovered that I never watched actually a talk-show like this one. Anyway, it was pretty neat to see how the production was going on behind the curtains and, well, it didn’t make such TV-shows really attractive, to be honest. I also liked the fact that the whole writing staff was composed of middle-aged white guys and I’m sure it’s not far from the truth. However, Thompson was a perfect choice, I can’t remember the last time I saw her playing a character so entertaining and she really nailed it. On top of that, she had tons of chemistry with John Lithgow and they made a really convincing and believable couple. Concerning Mindy Kaling, she was a good choice as well but, unfortunately, her character was rather poorly written. She was already the only woman in the writing staff, she had also some Indian roots but why on Earth didn’t she need to have a blue collar background as well? It was really unnecessary and it made her look completely unqualified to get this job. She should have been simply a professional comedian who was trying to have her big break in this business, that would have been more satisfying. Hugh Dancy’s character was also interesting as he was basically a selfish womanizer but he wasn’t portrayed as a dangerous sexual predator. It was also refreshing that Mindy Kaling’s character didn’t fall hard for him and didn’t have sex with him (such a shame that she still ended up with another white dude from the writing room though). Unfortunately, after the big scandal which was seriously predictable, the guy completely disappeared which was rather weird and unsatisfying. Concerning the plot, well, it was seriously predictable and generic and they could have made an effort to make it more original and interesting. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still neat to see Emma Thompson back with her A game and, only for her, it is worth a look. 

6/10