this causes me devastation. yet it hurts so good...

Good lord, Holly Hunter in this movie is absolutely divine. My heart ached with her and I think she was absolutely robbed at the Oscars. I continue to love Albert Brooks and I loved this movie's bittersweet ending. Really great stuff.

Hunter’s magnetism pushes it over the top. Along with interesting character dynamics and stressful atmosphere. Threw a curveball at the end.

Perhaps my expectations were too high - with a background in journalism I hoped this film widely treated as a classic might have something interesting to say about the craft and ethics of US TV news in the '80s. Failing that I at least hoped it would have sharp dialogue and an engaging romantic comedy plot. Instead I found the whole thing hugely irritating. Journalism practice was simply a caricatured backdrop. And it depicted smart, dedicated news professionals as " pointy headed intellectuals" - obsessive perfectionists who are incapable of compromise and emotional wrecks. A few wisecracks aside, the script was pretty lackluster and i didn't find any of the three characters engaging.

"well... uhm. excuse me, what? despite That™, i was actually so incredibly charmed by this film, right until the very last seven minutes. because... what the fuck?" — i'll have you know that this is the review i started writing before i realised that i'd misinterpreted the ending, in my utter PANIC. thank god. phew. crisis averted. this was a GOOD ending actually. anyway, that being said, yes, i was so incredibly charmed by this film actually. i know this is a kind of overused phrase these days but it is very true for this film when i say that they just don't make 'em like this anymore.