Bombshell Review
By Myla Tosatto
No matter how you look at it, Roger Ailes didn’t run Fox News in a “Fair and Balanced” way. And I’m not talking politics here (mostly), I’m talking about gender equality. Jay Roach’s Bombshell touches on Ailes’ (John Lithgow) eventual departure from Fox at the hands of Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron). If your skin crawls during Bombshell, then Roach is doing what he intended. He has given voice to the #metoo movement. Rot permeated Fox News during his tenure (and most likely does still to this day).
Bombshell Review
The movie basically follows Kelly, Carlson and fictional Kayla Pospisill (Margot Robbie) as they climb and fall from the Fox News ladder. As Carlson leads the charge in taking down Ailes and Kelly puts the knife in his side, the Kayla character is used to show what women go through to advance in corporate America. Kayla is all about putting Fox, Ailes, and Murdoch on a pedestal until it’s too late. It is not easy to watch. Not that the cast isn’t terrific, because they are, but because that sick sexual harassment continues.
Photo Credit: Lionsgate
I’m surprised Roach didn’t make Bombshell into a miniseries. I would have gladly watched a full two hours on Carlson, Megyn and Kayla (with Kate McKinnon’s character Jess included here). I felt cheated that I didn’t get to see their complete stories. It would have been interesting to see an entire episode dedicated to the other Fox women as well: Jeanine Pirro (Alanna Ubach), Abby Hunstsman (Elisabeth Rohm), Greta Van Susteren (Anne Ramsay), Ainsley Earhardt (Alice Eve) and Bree Condon’s Kimberly Guilfoyle (though watching more of Guilfoyle is a thing of nightmares, no offense to Ms. Condon). The men of Fox? Not so much.
This movie is fast paced and entertaining just like Fox “News”, Jay Roach Reports. You decide.
Bombshell is now playing in theaters!