There are always a handful of buzzy films at Sundance which are labeled as possible breakout mainstream hits, and this year the chosen one was Late Night. The talk show comedy from writer and star Mindy Kaling sold for a hefty $13M to Amazon Studios who obviously saw the same thing that I and other critics saw, which is a funny and timely film that should have no problem finding a big audience.
While Kaling is the writer and star, the showiest role by far goes to Emma Thompson who plays Katherine Newbury, a legendary talk show host in a field mostly dominated by men. As her ratings begin to slide, she decides to mix things up by hiring an unproven female writer (Kaling) to be part of her all-male writing staff. That comes with the unexpected conflicts from the established patriarchy, but the biggest hurdle may be Katherine who has a hard time changing her ways.
Kaling's script is directed by Nisha Ganatra, with the two having worked together previously on episodes of The Mindy Project. The ensemble is impressive, as well, with John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, John Early, Amy Ryan, Max Casella, and Ike Barinholtz.
I was a big fan of Late Night when it debuted in Park City, calling it "ratings gold" and "meaningful in a way that is both funny and relatable." We'll see how the film does when Amazon opens it on June 7th.
