Can I Be Al Brooks When I Grow Up?

Pretty please? I’ll do my homework and eat all my vegetables. Honest.

I am so ashamed to say this, but Sunday I watched Broadcast News (1987) for the first time ever. (A stunned hush falls over the world.) I know, this seems inconceivable. Albert Brooks fanatic? Check. 80s movie buff. Check. Patron of fine comedy and social commentary? Check.

So what the hell happened?

The short answer to this is that I was 9 when this movie was released, so I will plead that defense. Actually, I did watch part of this once, but I was torn away from it, and never got back to it. Then last summer I bought a used copy of it on VHS for 99 cents, but when I tried to watch the thing there was no sound and no picture. That’s not true. I thought I made out Brooks’ Jew-fro in one second before it cut out again.

(Oh well, you get what you pay for, and since I bought it in Hamilton I think of it as charity, for surely 99 cents represents a day’s wages for a family of five in that rat nest.)

On Sunday, I was finally united with the picture I was born to love. And did I love it? As much as one could predict. Clearly, after I see it again, there may have to be a shake up in “Holly’s Top 100 Films of All-Time.”

At one point, I got so wrapped up in it, and so horrified that someone might actually chose William Hurt of all people, the Alpine WASP giant of arrogance, over my Albert Brooks, that I was tempted to charge onto the internet for instant spoilers.

One thing was for certain, if Al ended up losing a battle that he was clearly meant to win, I wanted no part in the rest of the film.

However, I resisted all urges, and was kept gripped throughout.

But, for those of you who haven’t seen this James Brooks masterpiece, there is far more here than a romantic triangle. Satire on the news industry is first and foremost, as the struggle between real news and infotainment rages. Unfortunately, this remains even more true today than when the picture was made, except for the fact that there may not be a struggle anymore. Journalistic ethics, credibility, TV tricks, it’s all in there, and it is a joy.

The movie goes further than that, however, into the world of people who are so emotionally and socially screwed up that they can afford (read: need) to place themselves under enormous daily strain and aggravation at work, simply because it keeps them from thinking about all that they don’t have. And some elements of these obsessive-compulsive overachievers and their quirks and hang-ups did hit too close to the bone. It took me a little while to get over the discomforting self-examination and enjoy myself. (I am just glad I watched it alone.)

I know that Albert Brooks has his critics, and perhaps he is a specialized taste, but I rarely get so much pleasure out of any performance as I do out of his, and every one of his movies has given me a special little thrill at some point. In Broadcast News, he absolutely shined. He was as funny and as touching as I have ever seen him, and I have never been so enamoured with him as I am right now.

Favourite line? “Tom, as nice as he is… is the devil!” Ha ha… I laugh and laugh. But, like all things Al Brooks, you have to hear it from him to get the full effect.

So, if you haven’t seen this, go now! Don’t let my shame be yours!