Late Night (2019)

Late Night is a rom com in all ways but without the heteronormative relationship at its centre. It hits all the beats, and in smart, creative ways, of a typical rom com but centres on the relationship between two (apparently) heterosexual women who do not end up falling in love, well not in the way we think of in terms of these movies. They meet cute, the situational problems surrounding them attract them together then pull them apart, they grow through the experience into better people, and at the end one of them chases down the other to  reunite them and they ride off into the sunset happy to be together.

So much about Late Night is smart and funny in this way of embracing a genre to tell us a different story. It pushes us to see the way professional women interact with each other and can strengthen each other. Everything our culture says different. What is brilliant about it (besides strong performances, sharp writing, and lovely direction) is the way it all feels so familiar while telling us a story that is so different from what we are usually force fed.

And when there is romance it is genuine. Thompson's relationship with Lithgow's character is truly poignant and honest despite getting very little screen time. The two actors bring such skill to their performances the connections are realistic and truthful. And Kaling's romance is relegated to where it should be, the background. Because the fact her character finds love is incidental to the plot and while it is nice for her it isn't what is important.

Indie director Nisha Ganatra seems like a strange choice for a mainstream comedy like this til you see it. First of all the film apes mainstream films as a device but transcends those tropes it borrows at every turn. Instead she imbues her film with a lovely sensitivity and awareness which makes it so damn watchable while at the same time telling us a story far more interesting than we would have expected. She takes Kaling's script, full of very familiar Kaling sensibilities, and takes full advantage of it. It's smart without being inaccessible. It's funny without being over the top. It is the sort of film where all the pieces fit together so nicely.

And as we watch Thompson and Kaling go through the beats of a typical romantic comedy but do so as friends, as women, as colleagues, and never as lovers, we realize that there are more stories out there which are so damn fascinating and entertaining to watch.

Late Night
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Max Casella, Denis O'Hare, Amy Ryan, Ike Barinholtz, Annaleigh Ashford
Director: Nisha Ganatra
Writer: Mindy Kaling