Late Night Synopsis: A late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her first and only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision brings about unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women who are separated by culture and generation become united by their love of a biting punchline. When acclaimed talk show host Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is accused of hating women, given that her entire writing staff is full of white men, she instructs her producer, Brad, to hire a female writer. Enter bright-eyed wannabe comedy writer Molly (Mindy Kaling), who has no experience in writing but has the right genitalia, so the show hires her. “So, I was watching ‘Game Of Thrones’ with my girlfriend and she goes “Oh, it’s so unfair: only the women are getting naked.” So I whipped out my nuts and she’s like “oh my god, nuts!” – Daniel After a few bumpy starts, Molly begins to supply Katherine with the right material to endear her to her audience and to draw in new viewers. This is a much-needed boost for Katherine’s show, given that the network’s President plans to replace her with a younger male comedian due to a decade of low ratings. While this is marketed as a comedy, and it is, it’s also much more than that. Among the zingers and exquisite one-liners is a smart, pointed look at how women are held to different, often higher, standards in the workplace and in the media in general. I remember reading an interview where Kaling mentioned that she was singled out by the TV Academy when they tried to cut producer names off of the nomination list for The Office (for which she was a writer and producer). So I suppose it could be said that perhaps some of her earlier experiences trying to make in a predominantly white, male-oriented business seeped into her script for Late Night. “You’re a writer, so write” – Burditt I am definitely a fan of Kaling’s writing. I’ve enjoyed her work on The Office, as well as The Mindy Project, and I felt like she delivered a solid script with Late Night. It’s not a full-on comedy, but it’s not so caught up in its message that it can’t deliver clever jokes. I would have loved to have more of Kaling’s character, Molly, but to be honest, Emma Thompson is the star here. She delivers such an impressive, biting performance as Katherine that I was transfixed every time she was on the screen. I don’t think that’s much of a surprise. Emma Thompson is generally fabulous in everything she’s in, even if the material is weak.  “This show is my life, so fuck you for giving it up”.– Molly The rest of the cast was pretty great as well. I especially loved Denis O’Hare as Katherine’s producer, and John Lithgow delivers a poignant performance as Katherine’s husband, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Hugh Dancy and Reid Scott play colleagues of Molly’s, both of whom spark romantic potential in their own way, but thankfully, the movie doesn’t deviate too much from the more exciting parts of the film to deeply explore Molly’s love life. I love romance, but to do so here would have taken away from the film’s overall feel. Going into Late Night, I expected something more akin to the more obvious, in-your-face comedy and silly hijinks, but what I got was so much better. I enjoyed it a lot and am excited to see what else we’ll be getting from Kaling. Starring: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, John Lithgow, Denis O’Hare, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott