*This is a true story.

IMDB Synopsis

A revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it.

Politics is a dangerous word in our lexicon these days, and with the way our society works now a days the media plays a big part in our understand of that word. Fox News of course is a Conservative leaning network that was mired in a sexual harassment scandal a few years ago and the new movie Bombshell does a balancing act. It juggles talking about the scandal with relating it to what is happening in the world as a whole today.

This movie, directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers) is from the perspective of Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), probably because she is the most recognizable figure, and we see how the head of the network Roger Ailes psychologically and physically abused his employees for years. He would famously say “If you want to get a head, you have to give a little head,” so yeah, not ideal. We also see Nicole Kidman take on the role of Gretchen Carlson who really was the first woman to blow the lid off the scandal.

There is not a ton of overarching story in this and I feel like the best parts of the movie are all in the performances, so lets get to Stocks right?

Stock Watch

Stock Up – Charlize Theron

Queen Charlize does it again after her hilarious performance earlier this year in Long Shot. It was almost scary the transformation she undertook to play Megyn Kelly, and in the beginning when she is taking you through Fox the similarities are unnerving. She will for sure get nominated for Best Actress for this movie and honestly I would not be shocked if she wins.

Stock Neutral – Nicole Kidman

She does not get a ton to do in this but she still puts in great work of course in this role. I definitely felt for her the most even though I know she has her own demons in the closet. That is a testament to the greatness of Kidman.

Stock Neutral – Margot Robbie

After her controversial turn in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood she puts in a solid performance here as a composite figure of a female Fox News employee. We see incredibly awkward and tough scenes with her and Ailes and it represents what he would do to low level employees trying to be promoted. She is clearly a star on the rise she just did not have a huge amount of scenes to work with.

Stock Neutral – John Lithgow

Lithgow in a massive amount of prosthetics giving off massively creepy vibes, WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE PEOPLE. Obviously his character of Roger Ailes is a scumbag but Lithgow is the man and he is great of course in this.

Who’s That Guy?

Stephen Root!!! – 244 IMDB Credits

The that guy of all that guys Mr. Stephen Root. He is literally in everything you have ever seen on TV or movies and there is a smile on my face every time he is on screen. In this he played one of Gretchen Carlson’s lawyers and did his thing of course.

Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton

My favorite married couple from the league!

Malcolm Mcdowell – 267 IMDB Acting Credits

All time that guy and he shows up for about 5 minutes near the end to play Rupert Murdoch. He just chews scenery and always in unforgettable no matter how long he is on screen.

* A couple other tidbits

• Kate McKinnon just does not do it for me in any of her roles yet.
• Allison Janney’s accent is just wonderful.
• Stay in your lane was shown on the highway three times in a very pointed message.
• They just went out and really found every blonde actress they could find, Jennifer Morrison, Alice Eve and so on.

This movie tells an important story about the disgusting harassment these women endured at Fox News, it just does not feel like it needed to be a movie. The performances were incredible, and the filmmaking was very well done, but this felt more like it needed to be a documentary than a narrative story. Especially when so much of the actually story is drowned in NDA’s.

Juice Rating:

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