Review of Broadcast News (1987) by Sabrina I — 18 Jan 2011

A witty, humorous, and touching look at the lives of three people - a reporter, a news anchor and a producer who form a love triangle of sorts. But the film is not only about their love story but about how the news gets compromised for more sensational headlines and how the person at the anchor desk gets all the accolades and the praises just because they can look like they know what they are talking about even if they actually don't.

We see Tom played by William Hurt as a news anchor who can surely play the role well but doesn't know much about what he's talking about on-camera and then we have a reporter Aaron played by Albert Brooks who knows everything, does his research - puts in the hard work only to have a person like Tom recite his words on camera as if they are his own.

And when Aaron tries to anchor an hour of news himself to prove that he can also do it, the information he is providing his audience is well written and important but he gets nervous and sweats a lot ruining his chances.

The presentation is poor and lacks the confidence that Tom can show on camera. Pretty much Tom is a good actor, he can mask his low self confidence and lack of knowledge when hes on camera while Aaron is a more honest guy who just can't fake it and he hates everything Tom stands for and so does Jane played by Holly Hunter.

She wants to change the way the news is presented and what is presented but we also see her being swept into Tom's deceptions until the end when she realizes that she can't compromise on her values.

The film gives us an inside look on how news room operates and people that work there deal with the stress, the highs and the lows of that environment. We are introduced to character's with human qualities that anyone can relate to.

You want to follow their journey. With great acting and a great script the film turns out to be a good watch. Well worth it.