Review of Broadcast News (1987) by Devon B — 01 Apr 2010

If Broadcast News had been made in the forties, William Hurt's role would've been played by Gary Cooper and Holly Hunter's role would've been played by Barbara Stanwyck, and of course the whole thing would've ended alot differently.

Written, produced, and directed by James L. Brooks, "Broadcast News" plays like a classic hollywood film filtered through the angry perspective of one who was picked on alot by good-looking jocks in school.

Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) has to choose between her heart and her intellect, that is, until a big twist at the end torpedoes any dilemma she had and cheats her (and us) out of having to make an unbiased decision.

It's odd, and not to get into revealing too many spoilers, but she seems to have no problem forgiving Aaron (Albert Brooks) for being a rotten person but finds Tom's (William Hurt) lack of ethics (in an area he has no emotion invested in to begin with) to be unforgiveable.

Tom told her time and again he really wasn't cut out for journalism and that it was just a job for him, something that he lucked into. It's an unsatisfying ending and seems out of character for Hurt's character.

Or does it? In the beginning, we see Hurt even as a child is a natural born salesman, conning his dad out of doling out punishment when he brings home a bad report card. Tom recognizes his good looks are a tool to use in getting ahead.

Brooks' character is the opposite, he hates the jocks and bullies that tortured him in high school, but never leaves that teenage mentality behind, never matures. He carries that bitter grudge throughout adulthood and seeks to strike back at those who are similar to his tormentors.

Things are an absolute moral black and white with him, but only HIS morals and values count, everyone else is either a fraud or "evil". Jane makes a career out of obsessively managing her life down to telling the taxi drivers which route to take during the day.

She starts everyday weeping, weeping under the pressure she puts upon herself. These three characters are really well written and they make up a unique and interesting love triangle. True, there is a moral dilemma at the end that feels sort of wrong, but that's just to distract you from the moral dilemma that's been taking place throughout the entire movie.