By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
In “Late Night,” Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is an acerbic TV talk-show host who, when one of her beleaguered writers asks for a raise, citing a new baby/family responsibilities, fires him on the spot, noting that — for years — the male ‘good provider’ role was used as an excuse for underpaying women.
Reminiscent of Meryl Streep’s imperious Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Katherine unapologetically rides roughshod over her white/male staff until, suddenly, she demands that her producer (Denis O’Hare) hire a woman writer.
By pure coincidence, fresh-faced Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling), who is of Indian descent, is sitting in front of his desk, applying for a job.
Thanking her lucky stars, optimistic Molly, who previously worked in a Pennsylvania chemical plant, reports for work the next day — only to discover she’s surrounded by disdainful, misogynistic men, particularly Tom (Reid Scott), the entitled monologue writer who refers to her as a “diversity hire.”
“Your earnestness can be very hard to be around,” condescending Katherine dryly tells Molly.
Problem is: although she’s reigned for nearly three decades, Katherine’s failing ratings could cause her imminent replacement by a hot, young comedy-club shock jock (Ike Barinholtz).
So it’s Molly’s ingenuity to the rescue, reminding Katherine that she’s “a little old and a little white” and she needs to change with the times, candidly stating her personal and political opinions — the more controversial the better.
Screenwriter/actress Mindy Kaling nails the savvy deconstruction of an ego-driven, talk show host (think David Letterman/Jack Paar), subtly exploring workplace issues of balance, sexism and ageism with director Nisha Ganatra (“Girls,” “Transparent,” “Mr. Robot,” and “The Mindy Project”).
Elegant, edgy Emma Thompson is outrageously hilarious, exuding ferocity and intelligence. In support, Mindy Kaling delivers an awkward, yet emotionally intense performance, along with empathetic John Lithgow as Katherine’s ailing ‘Professor Emeritus’ husband.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Late Night” is an entertaining, empowering 8. Seriously funny, it’s not your conventional comedy.
The 19-year-old, 12-segment “X-man” franchise comes to a substandard halt with “Dark Phoenix,” the saga of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner, who was Sansa Stark on “Game of Thrones”)…aka The Phoenix, who made a brief initial appearance in “X-Men Apocalypse” (2016).
Young Jean’s supernatural gifts inadvertently caused the fatal car crash that killed her mother, landing her in the care of wheelchair-bound Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), who recognizes the traumatized orphan’s telepathic/telekinetic skills.
Apparently, exposure to a solar flare has now increased Jean’s already amazing psychic skills, almost driving her crazy and turning her into one of most destructive mutants. Inevitably, that moves Jean’s once-simmering romance with Cyclops/Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) onto a back-burner.
Enter Vuk (Jessica Chastain), a shape-shifting alien who twists Jean’s mind by asking: ”Are you a scared little girl who answers to the man in the chair, or are you the most powerful being on the planet?”
Adding “You’re stronger than you know. You’re special!” Their encounter inevitably leads to disaster, causing surly, brooding Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to resurface in his remote, rural commune.
Here in one scene and gone in another are Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Quicksilver (Evan Peters) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp).
Eventually, empowered Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) notes that the X-Men should become the X-Women because “The women are always saving the men around here.”
Melodramatically scripted by producer Simon Kinsberg, who is making his directorial debut, it was made on a reportedly whopping $200 million budget before Fox was acquired by Disney, which owns Marvel.
The line of dialogue — “You’re always sorry and there’s always a speech, but nobody cares anymore” — pretty well sums up the entire enterprise.
On the Granger Gauge, “Dark Phoenix” is a fizzling 5, causing the iconic, stand-alone series to crash-and-burn. Will the heroic mutants join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Who knows? Who cares?
If “Ma” was just a story of a middle-aged psycho-killer who befriends a group of teenagers, invites them to party at her house and then terrorizes them, it would probably never have been ‘greenlit.’ But after director Tate Taylor cast Octavia Spencer, an African-American Oscar-winner, whom he’d directed in “The Help” (2016), funding suddenly became available.
When teenage Maggie (Diana Silvers) moves with her single mom, Erica (Juliette Lewis), to the small Ohio town where her mom grew up, she eagerly seeks new friends but finds herself besieged by peer pressure. “You don’t vape?” one asks, dismissively.
So Maggie goes off for an evening with Haley (McKaley Miller), Darrell (Dante Brown), and Chaz (Gianna Paolo) in a van that belongs to Andy (Corey Fogelman), hoping that strangers will buy them beer.
The only adult who seems remotely sympathetic is Sue Ann Ellington (Octavia Spencer), assistant to the local veterinarian (Allison Janney), but even she refuses them — until she realizes that Andy’s father is Ben (Lucas Evans), a security contractor. After buying them booze, she informs Ben that his son is breaking the law. When the police appear, the kids immediately assume that Ben called them.
So when Sue Ann offers to buy them beer again, she insists that the kids come to her secluded, suburban house to party in the unfinished basement so they won’t get arrested. Obviously, they’re grateful and game, nicknaming her “Ma.”
“You think I’m Madea,” Sue Ann taunts them, referencing Tyler Perry’s matriarch.
The only hitch is that they’re not allowed upstairs because that’s where she’s hidden her wheelchair=-confined daughter, Genie (Tanyell Waivers).
Scripted by Scotty Landes, flashbacks illustrate Sue Ann’s excruciatingly miserable high school experiences, which left her traumatized and obviously deranged. She’s now determined to wreak revenge on those who humiliated her many years earlier.
Eventually, Sue Ann is told: “What happened to you was wrong, and we should have stopped it” … but that’s too little too late.
On the Granger Gauge, “Ma” is a sadistic 4. Sheer malevolence.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
