Broadcast News feels like it has lost a bit of its bite as the years went on. Originally released fifteen years ago, it undoubtedly seemed like a prophetic commentary on trends in news media, voicing an understandable unease at the line blurring between merely reporting the news and “selling” it to an eager and unquestioning population. Back then, these trends were undeniably present and one could sense a none-too-subtle shift in the approach to news. Unfortunately, it looks like those trends are to stay, and I think that has aged Broadcast News considerably. It doesn’t feel like James L. Brooks’ telling media satire is attacking a coming change so much as it is making one last stand against it. It’s still a very clever, very powerful and very well put together piece of film, but it sadly feels like it’s fighting a battle lost long ago.
That, perhaps, makes Broadcast News the most depressing comedy I’ve seen in quite some time.
They let an Tom, Dick or Harry host the news…
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron, Aaron Sorkin, Albert Brooks, Blair, Broadcast News, Brooks, film, fox news, hbo, holly hunter, James L. Brooks, Jane, Journalist, Movie, news media, Newsroom, Nuclear disarmament, review, Television, Tom, United States, white house, william hurt | Leave a comment »
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