Broadcast News (1987)

Just over a decade before Broadcast News you had arguably the pinnacle of journalism on film in All The President’s Men (1976). So if that’s the high benchmark for a newspaper room on film, then it’s easy to see why, as far as television broadcasting on screen is concerned, Broadcast News is held up as the most influential. You can see the strands reaching all the way to recent films; even Bruce Almighty (2003) and Anchorman (2004) take cues from James L. Brooks’ romantic comedy-drama. A superb Holly Hunter is Jane; a career driven television producer who becomes entangled in a love triangle with long time friend Aaron (a truly excellent Albert Brooks) and a handsome young journalist Tom (an always reliable William Hurt). These three characters make the film as good as it is, the relationships between each of them are as believable as they are interesting, and the film is also very funny. It’s also superbly written, which is absolutely key considering much of the film is set in a fast paced highly stressful working environment; meaning that the back and forth between the actors is electric. Broadcast News also features an amusing cameo from Jack Nicholson, who barely gets any screen time and yet manages to inject a satisfying amount of smarminess and cut throat attitude to the newsroom to make it worth it. What makes a good Romcom is being genuinely unaware of how the films’ going to end, and Broadcast News manages to tick this box with aplomb; although perhaps calling it a strict Romcom is unfair. The film shares similarities with a thriller; such is the pace of the action, be it romantic or work related, making for an always engrossing and frequently amusing experience. 7.8/10