I can honestly say, at one point, I absolutely could not stand Mindy Kaling (The Office, Inside Out). All I knew her from for the longest time was her role of Kelly Kapoor on The Office, and I felt like Ryan most of the time: exasperated. It wasn’t until I started watching The Mindy Project with my girlfriend that I realized how wonderfully talented she is. After a recent re-watch of The Office, she easily has become one of my favorite characters on the show, and anyone who has seen it (c’mon, slap yourself if you haven’t watched it yet) knows those are some pretty strong words considering the strength of the cast. Mindy brings her raw, untapped wit to Late Night which is a brilliant film about a woman who is being pushed out of her late-night show in a male-dominated field.
The woman in question is Katherine Newbury, played dourly by Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Saving Mr. Banks), and at the beginning of the film her head writer Brad, played by Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story, This is Us) tells her she needs to hire a woman on the writing staff. Enter Molly Patel, a perky woman who is absolutely head over heels in love with Katherine and her show. After beating out a nepotism hire, she gets the job and realizes she is in for more than she bargained for when she meets the male-dominated writing staff, led by Tom, played by Reid Scott (Veep, Venom), the head monologue writer. Almost immediately after the oft joked about “diversity hire” of Molly, Katherine is told by her boss, played delightfully cruelly by Amy Ryan (The Office, Beautiful Boy), that Katherine has until the end of the season before she has to give up the show. Katherine realizes after a discussion with her maligned husband Walter, played by John Lithgow (Cliffhanger, 3rdRock from the Sun), that her show needs an injection of fun.
The writers room has a vast array of different personalities, including the sex icon Charlie, played by Hugh Dancy (Hannibal, The Path), the veteran Burditt, played by Max Casella (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Jackie), the flamboyant Reynolds, played by comedian John Early (Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, The Disaster Artist), and the loveable goofball Mancuso, played by Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya, BlacKKKlansman). The writers must figure out a way to make the show relevant again, all while Katherine seemingly doesn’t want to change. Molly, meanwhile, is thrilled to just be a part of the team, as she idolizes the show and Katherine herself, although her experience proves the old adage, “don’t meet your heroes.” As the writers struggle to come together as a team and accept Molly at the same time, Katherine is dealing with a serious moment of regret which could cost her everything. Late Night is an absolutely hilarious example of a witty and relevant film taking chances left and right and succeeding every single time.
This story came from the mind of Mindy Kaling, and it is pretty apparent that she is set to take over Hollywood if she continues this stream of success. Her characterizations are so poignant and wonderful that I instantly felt a draw to the characters. I felt like I could relate with each and every character on multiple levels. These characterizations are brought to life by the amazing actors, who each serve their purpose, but also by the wonderful direction of Nisha Ganatra (Chutney Popcorn, You Me Her). The film is a nonstop rollercoaster with tons of laughs with all sorts of combinations of different types of humor, whether it is slapstick, witty, or even bathroom humor, this film just keeps busting guts throughout its’ entire runtime of one hour and forty-two minutes.
As for Emma Thompson… WOW. Mindy Kaling wrote this film with Emma Thompson specifically in mind, and after seeing the film I totally understand why. She absolutely nailed the role of Katherine Newbury in a way that couldn’t be done by anyone else. Katherine is a cold, arrogant woman, who refuses to change (as many protagonists often do), yet underneath all her armor, she is a human being, with loads of emotional baggage and fragility which we rarely see her express. This is what makes her such an amazing character. In a day and age where women are finally breaking through the glass ceiling, Katherine Newbury is the epitome of the hard work that led up to this cultural awakening. She is a tough and gritty woman who once knew how to connect with her audience, and slowly over time this same toughness and grit has turned her against the world in many ways. As a character there are so many layers to peel back and Emma Thompson allows the viewer to experience life from her point of view, which in a single word is lonely. I’d be surprised if she isn’t one of the frontrunners for an Oscar at this moment, because her performance alone made it a good movie. Adding in everyone else’s performance made it a fantastic movie.
I wanted to address the acting performances of the supporting writing team. I have been a fan of Hugh Dancy since his breakout role of Will Graham on the hit show Hannibal. It was nice to see his depth as an actor. Reid Scott blew me away at how naturally funny he was. Denis O’Hare proves yet again that he can provide more than most of his twisted characters on American Horror Story suggest. Paul Walter Hauser’s performance definitely didn’t hurt his chances of winning the envious role of Richard Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s The Ballad of Richard Jewell with this role. Max Cassela brings the male side of the old school way of doing business to life in this film and shows that even the tough-hearted can change. John Early provides another hilarious performance. Last but not least, Ike Barinholtz (Blockers, Neighbors), who worked with Kaling on The Mindy Project turns in a strong performance as the dim-witted stand-up comedian Daniel Tennant, who is clearly a caricature of Dane Cook, oh how the mighty have fallen.
Lesley Barber (Manchester by the Sea, Nappily Ever After) wrote the score for Late Night, and like her previous work suggests, she is able to hit both the light and serious notes. Her theme for Katherine Newbury’s show (every late-night talk show host has a theme) reminds me of Damien Chazelle’s scores for Whiplash and La La Land, with plenty of percussion and strings. The film isn’t entirely light though, as it deals with some intense subject matter involving Molly’s deceased father, which may have stemmed from real life (Kaling’s mom died from cancer in real life). Barber approaches these more emotionally driven scenes with a lovely piano theme tied with a beautiful guitar melody. As a movie score aficionado, I am excited to dive into Lesley Barber’s body of work after discovering her with Late Night.
Late Night’s key players are all women, and it clearly shows that these women all have something to say. I was incredibly blessed to have heard that message. I urge everyone to go see this movie, because it bears an important message that diversity is important and better yet, the unique perspective it can provide is rewarding in more ways than one. I know this first hand, as I am dating a talented, driven, beautiful, Indian woman myself and the amount of perspective I have gained from our relationship, I am forever grateful for. I am on the edge of my seat for more to come from Mindy Kaling, and I am equally excited to see what Lilly Singh brings to the table, as she has recently become the first Indian woman to host a late-night show. On that note, as Katherine Newbury would say, I thank you for your time.
– For Karuna