Late Night Shines with Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson-A Modern Mary Tyler Moore and More

The film "Late Night" is formulaic funny stuff that is riotously clever, politically incorrect and much more than a light fare chick flick.  A behind the scenes TV talk show host & writing staff is not ground breaking material but "Late Night" throws in saucy curves and hard hitting lines.  Molly (Mindy Kaling "The Mindy Project") is the film's screenwriter and co-star who pars with her boss, TV Late Night host Katherine (the inimitable Emma Thompson). Kaling pays unapologetic homage to old TV shows; particularly the beloved "Mary Tyler Moore Show".   Kaling tosses her hat high & laughs rain down amid some well earned tears.  Molly is your perky, irrepressible single working woman looking for her big break in TV.  Katherine is the curmudgeon boss who hates perky.  Katherine has a steely facade covering for a big heart after all.  The Late Night Talk Show with host Katherine Newbury has been flailing for the past several years. It's become stale, dated and worst of all, not funny.  There's blame to go around from its haughty host and its all white stale male writing team for whom Katherine's stifled and been hostile.  The comedy writers type casting is straight from "40 Rock" (as is the locale).  They're a motley mix of talented actors.  Katherine assigns them numbers according to their seats rather than addressing them by name.  A few of the number crew to call out are Hugh Darcy, Reid Scott, Max Casella and Denis O'Hare as Brad her long-time cohort.  Amy Ryan is perfect as the menacing network head who intends to stop the bleeding by cutting Katherine from her show.  Katherine knows she's been negligent, lazy & sexist.  She hates working with other women and orders Brad to hire a woman on the staff.  Molly's happenstance circumstance land her the job despite her feeble qualifications.  But, timid Molly is not.  Mindy as Molly has never been more appealing or subversively clever.  The "Me too Movement" gets a she too slut shaming and there's affirmative action blaming.  Molly remains undaunted.  She refuses to be marginalized by white male privilege or kowtow to a bitchy boss.   This may sound trite but Late Night goes rogue.  It's a pastiche of hubris, humbling humor with earnest emotional tugs & twists.  Kaling's screen-writing is innovative  "cartharcissim" deserving of a standing ovation.  "Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." Mindy Kaling is no Yeats, at least not yet.  But, "Late Night" is a sure bet for LOL fun.