“Broadcast News” (1987) is among the great movies about the news business, but not solely for a portrayal of journalism that’s time-stamped for 1987 but also includes predictive and timeless elements. The love triangle between Jane (Holly Hunter), Tom (William Hurt) and Aaron (Albert Brooks) sneakily becomes the best part of the movie.
Writer-director James L. Brooks (“The Simpsons”) perfectly – or should I say “imperfectly” – plays the stilted rhythms of a first almost-date between Tom and Jane in the latter’s hotel room at a broadcasters’ conference. The talky Jane makes an advance when Tom isn’t ready, as he’s distracted by her criticism of his newsman legitimacy.
It’s the first of many scenes that show the awkwardness of mistimed or mismatched love, but somehow these are mesmerizing rather than cringeworthy. It’s like the characters themselves delight in the awkwardness of their situations. It’s undeniable that “performance” is part of Tom’s movement through the world; it’s what makes him a great anchor, just as Jane’s analytical nature makes her a great producer.
“Broadcast News” (1987)
Director: James L. Brooks
Writer: James L. Brooks
Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter
Despite coming from a man, “Broadcast News” is especially about Jane, maybe because Hunter is so magnetic. She likes the brains of best friend and excellent reporter Aaron, who is unambiguously in love with her, and the looks of Tom, who she is falling for despite not respecting him.
Thrills of the job and life
And she’s looking to check off the box of “fall in love,” even while being a workaholic. She thrives in her producer role but cries when alone. The two guys are this way, too (minus the unmanliness of crying), making me think the desire to achieve traditional work-life balance is a preoccupation of helmer Brooks as well.
Although the relationships take over (in a good way), the strict workplace material provides both the best dramatic and best comedic sequence. Brooks excitingly shows the process of how a special report comes together. Aaron phones Jane with tidbits of information, she feeds the info to Tom’s earpiece, and he calmly reports it as if it’s his own knowledge. “Broadcast News” initially sees anchors as lesser (albeit paid more), but this sequence shows Tom’s skill set. Then in the funniest segment, we see the ways in which Aaron is not good at anchoring.
And in a Tom-reported segment, we see his flaws in this discipline. Ethical questions come into play as the piece cuts from the weeping interview subject to Tom’s tears. This was the ethical line of 1987, so much so that the crying cutaway was almost comedic, but now it’s just part of news-as-entertainment. “Broadcast News,” though not as biting as “Network” from the previous decade, sees and dreads the future that came to pass.
Brooks shows how teamwork and office politics awkwardly yet peacefully coexist, and this gracefully mirrors the love triangle. Maybe love-hate triangle is a better phrase, because true dislike is sometimes bandied among the trio. The way friendships or close work relationships can be blasted apart by the introduction of romance makes the movie timeless.
“Broadcast News” is like a great season of dramedy television crammed into a little more than 2 hours. The premise fits so perfectly that I half expected to learn a TV version was made a year later and quickly canceled. Maybe they were right to refrain; it’d be unlikely to match the three-headed chemistry of Hunter, Hurt and Brooks.