Rating: 
Summary: "I say it here, it comes out there."
Review: This is easily one of the wittiest and most entertaining movies I have ever seen. All the elements of fine filmmaking are here: great acting, great dialogue, and great direction. The three main actors are all excellent, each one recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscar nominations: Best Actor(William Hurt), Best Actress(Holly Hunter), and Best Supporting Actor(Albert Brooks). The Original Screenplay also received a nod, as did the Film Editing, Director(James L. Brooks), as well as the Best Picture nomination. While it did not win any, much to my dismay, I do remember pulling for this film with all my heart. "The Last Emperor" won 9 Oscars, so there wasn't much left over. This is smart movie-making on all fronts. Even the romance works here, which is often under considerable scrutiny from me. Holly Hunter is pursued by two men, at polar opposites with regards to their personalities. One is the man she is physically attracted to but finds intellectually repulsive, while the other is unattractive physically but is a brilliant and funny companion. This is intelligent and witty and ultimately warming. A treasure.
Rating:
Summary: "I say it here, it comes out there."
Review: This is easily one of the wittiest and most entertaining movies I have ever seen. All the elements of fine filmmaking are here: great acting, great dialogue, and great direction. The three main actors are all excellent, each one recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscar nominations: Best Actor(William Hurt), Best Actress(Holly Hunter), and Best Supporting Actor(Albert Brooks). The Original Screenplay also received a nod, as did the Film Editing, Director(James L. Brooks), as well as the Best Picture nomination. While it did not win any, much to my dismay, I do remember pulling for this film with all my heart. "The Last Emperor" won 9 Oscars, so there wasn't much left over. This is smart movie-making on all fronts. Even the romance works here, which is often under considerable scrutiny from me. Holly Hunter is pursued by two men, at polar opposites with regards to their personalities. One is the man she is physically attracted to but finds intellectually repulsive, while the other is unattractive physically but is a brilliant and funny companion. This is intelligent and witty and ultimately warming. A treasure.
Rating:
Summary: A great romantic comedy!!
Review: This is one of the best romantic comedies I have ever seen. The movie gets better and better! The cast is magnificent (especially Holly Hunter) and they put a great spin on the whole "love triangle" theme. A MUST see for anyone into sappy movies!!
Rating:
Summary: The fifth best film of all time.....really.
Review: This is quite simply a perfect film. It is about three REAL people in a somewhat messy love triangle, but it is so much better than any other movie in this genre because it doesn't stoop to stupid resolutions. The three main characters(Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Albert Brooks) are great at what they do, which is broadcast news, but they are terrible at matters of the heart. They always say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and because of that, we identify with them. When have any of us ever been absolutely perfect in the area of romance? The film is funny, sad and real. And Albert Brooks was absolutely robbed of his oscar in this role. It is his finest performance. If you are expecting by-the-numbers romance that you can see coming down fifth avenue, you will not enjoy this, but if you want to be touched by real people who try and fail at love, then this is the best film on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: I can sing, while I read.
Review: This movie is one of the best commentaries on life that I know: Everyone has their skills, and everyone envies the skills they don't have. The scene where Albert sings in French while making a cocktail (one hell of a cocktail) and watches the news broadcast while reading a book is one of those scenes that you want to steal and put in your own movie. Gets better every viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Breaking Story!
Review: TOM GRUNNICK, AARON ALTMAN and JANE CRAIG: BROADCAST NEWS:
A Handsome news anchor with an uncanny ability to sell the news, even if he is a little dim... A whiney story reporter with great integrity but a face that doesn't do well with focus groups... and the workaholic producer that can make anything happen and remain the love interest for the first two... BROADCAST NEWS is James L. Brooks brilliant comedy about this network news love triangle in the beltway of Washington DC. With sharp, biting dialogue and creative performances, he created one of the best films of the last 50 years. All the while tracing the love triangle, we also see the behind the scenes operations of the news in action. A scene where Tom (William Hurt) anchors an emergency report with Jane (Holly Hunter) coaching him through his earpiece is an accomplished piece of cinema as has been seen for 50 years. And a scene where Aaron (Albert Brooks) anchors the weekend news while battling a serious case of flop sweat is a hysterically funny scene worth remembering. And that is the beauty of the writer/directors work. The scenes are never wasted as they serve both the love triangle as well as the network operations. Jack Nicholson and Joan Cusack give great support in small character roles. A must for movie lovers everywhere. This was an early DVD release so it does not have much to offer other than a nice audio/video transfer. I would love to have a running commentary for this as Brooks did with AS GOOD AS IT GETS, but until that time, this is a great film worth a lot of study.
Rating:
Summary: "I can sing while I read! I am singing and reading both!"
Review: What can I say about this film that hasn't already been said? I've seen it countless times, and I still love it. A few years ago I watched it on the suggestion of my mother, since it is one of her favorite movies and I loved it too. Albert Brooks' performance as Aaron is comedic genius. He had so many funny lines, and was an all-around likeable guy, despite the fact that he did come off as whiny on occasion. Holly Hunter played the part of Jane very well, and she seemed like a very real person struggling with her hectic work life and lack of a social life, especially in her scheduled crying jags. William Hurt totally had it in him to play the "all flash, no substance" news reporter who may be slightly lost in the big, bad world of news anchoring, but somehow managed to pull it off. Brooks, Hunter and Hurt all deserved to be given the awards that were unfairly received by other actors. This is, and will always be, one of my favorite movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Strictly a technical review
Review: While this a without question a 5-star film, the dvd leaves MUCH to be desired. Let me begin with the widescreen framing. I was happy to finally see this arrive on dvd in its proper wide format. Out of curiosity I took out my oft-played VHS copy and compared the compositions. Understanding that many 1.85:1 pictures are merely 1.33:1 aspects with mattes placed on the top and bottom of the frame, I wasn't expecting to be too disappointed with the missing, albeit unintended, visual information. But I have to say - not only is the top and bottom masked off, but the SIDES are as well. In other words you lose information on ALL FOUR SIDES, and it does NOT look good. This CANNOT be what James L. Brooks had in mind...could it?!?! Sorry to say, but this has to be one of the most RARE examples where the "full-frame", that is, full aperture is preferred over the letterboxed edition. Which brings me to my next point: somebody PLEASE re-issue this as a Special Edition, replete with commentaries, and any extra footage. Finally, whoever, please, PLEASE re-frame this into a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. Widescreen is preferred, but on the existing dvd the framing is just too tight.
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