19June07: The FF2 Week in Review by Jan Lisa Huttner

From Jan Lisa Huttner (Editor-in-Chief of FF2 Media LLC)

Six (6) films written &/or directed by women filmmakers opened in Manhattan theaters this week:

• Framing John DeLorean
• Funan
• Ghost Fleet
• Late Night
• Nureyev
• Pavarotti

So far, I have only been able to see three. Of those three, I liked two a great deal, and I give the third–the animated drama Funan–points for trying.

It’s hard to chose between the delightful dramedy Late Night and the superlative doc Pavarotti, but pushed to the wall, my Top Pick for June 7th (drumroll please!) is Late Night (directed by Nisha Ganatra with a screenplay by Mindy Kaling).

There’s bound to be a big age debate on this film, with younger women (like FF2 Media’s interns) identifying more with Mindy Kaling’s feisty “Molly Patel,” and seniors (like me) identifying more with Emma Thompson’s beleaguered “Katherine Newbury,” and that’s great. What an exceedingly rare treat to see a professional relationship between two women depicted on the Big Screen!

That said, it’s very hard to have campaigned for Hilary Clinton in 2016 (as I did) and not empathize when the world demands that Katherine–with all her tremendous accomplishments–face up to the fact that she is nevertheless “flawed.” D’UH, as if anyone is ever perfect?

Unlike the 2016 election, the ending of Late Night was totally predictable, but I still found the twists and turns to be engaging and emotionally rewarding. And it goes without saying that all of the performances were spot on, especially Patel’s and Thompson’s which fit them like a pair of left-right gloves.

(Being as old as I am, I’ve also earned the right to remind everyone that this was actually Emma Thompson’s second run as a Hillary Clone. Her first go was in Primary Colors way back in 1998!)

Ah, if only real life was more like the movies.