Plot
Acclaimed British comedienne and long-time US late-night talk show host Katherine Newbury show's ratings have been steadily declining. She must revamp the show or be replaced.
Short female staff, Katherine insists producer Brad remedy this. Molly Patel, a huge fan and chemical plant worker, is hired for being an Indian-American woman on a 13-week trial basis. She is quickly briefed before meeting the other writers. They treat Molly like a gopher, until Brad corrects them. She officially starts the next day.
Katherine surprises everyone at the writers' meeting the next morning, not knowing most of them. They try to introduce themselves. Overwhelmed, Katherine assigns them numbers. Molly unknowingly enters late, as the meeting started early, so is uncomfortable. Another late writer gets fired immediately. Katherine explains the urgency for improving their ratings and then asks for Molly's view, who agrees they have become stale. The others later confirm she is a diversity hire.
Molly shares an office with their most seasoned writer, Burditt. As she has zero professional comedy experience, she initially struggles. However, Molly proves her worth through helpful feedback, albeit initially not embraced until she offers concrete solutions. Eventually, she gives Katherine good material and ideas to expand their demographics. Specifically a menopause joke for the monologue is cut at the last minute, when Brad reminds her that once the topic is brought up, no one will forget.
Interviewing a YouTube influencer backfires on Katherine. Feeling mocked, the young woman calls her a bitter, out-of-touch old lady and insists Katherine needs her and not visa-versa to increase followers.
The writer Charlie invites Molly to watch his standup. When she complains about her joke being cut, he gives her don'ts for the job. Molly mentions her upcoming emceeing for a lung cancer comedy benefit, in tribute to her father, and Charlie volunteers his act. She rejects his advances, but he assumes it is inevitable.
After the YouTube star blowup is leaked, a publicist steps in to improve Katherine's image. She has Katherine throw a party in her apartment, inviting the staff, press, and many others. Charlie tries to speak with Katherine privately, which she rebuffs, saying to the oversexed writer that “it” had been a mistake.
Ignored by everyone, Molly wanders, inadvertently meeting Katherine's husband Walter and recognizing the NYU professor emeritus. He is hiding so his Parkinson's shaking does not make others uncomfortable. Walter suggests Molly become indispensable to Katherine.
When a reporter accuses Katherine both of exclusively hiring WASPs with elite backgrounds and calling them by number and not name, Molly introduces herself, assuring them she is not elite and skillfully deflecting the other concern with a joke.
When Katherine learns that young, popular comedian Daniel Tennant is to replace her, she insists her team needs more time. She points out he is vulgar and misogynistic.
The writers have to stay late for weeks. When Molly starts to go to her lung cancer emceeing event, Katherine threatens to fire her. Molly leaves anyway. Surprisingly, Katherine appears at the event, doing an impromptu routine. She speaks from the heart, then does well by ridiculing herself.
Back at work, Katherine implores everyone to push less safe, more specific political material. She has Molly work with Tom on the monologues. Katherine's writers help her become relevant again and more engaged. Katherine interacts with people directly on the street. A young, vampire series actress comes on, and this time Katherine admires her work and actually gets a hug. Overall, the public responds well.
Although their ratings are steadily improving, management still insists Katherine concede to Tennant. Both Brad and Tom assure her it is ok, but Molly insists she defy the network's demands and declare so publicly.
Charlie's e-mail is hacked, so his affair with Katherine after Walter's initial Parkinson's diagnosis is uncovered. Molly finds her sitting in the dark, pitying herself. She criticizes Katherine for giving up and so gets fired.
Katherine eventually apologizes to Walter, the writers, and the audience. Her sincerity and passion for the show secure her job. Katherine apologizes to Molly in Brooklyn, hiring her back. The show stays on air.
One year later, the show's team has diversified. Molly is co-monologue writer with Tom, with whom she has a relationship. Katherine's show is more successful than ever.
Reception
Box office
Late Night grossed $15.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $6.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $22.4 million. [3] In June 2019, the film was estimated to have lost Amazon $40 million due to the cost of acquisition and marketing. [20] [21]
In its limited opening weekend, the film made $249,694 from four theaters, for a per-venue average of $62,414, the second-best of 2019. [22] The film expanded on June 14, opposite the openings of Men in Black: International and Shaft , and was projected to gross $5 million from 2,218 theaters over the weekend. [23] It ended up making $5.1 million, finishing ninth. While in-line with projections, the opening was viewed as disappointing given the positive critical reception and the studio's cost of acquisition. However, Deadline Hollywood noted the film was essentially an advertisement for streaming on Amazon Prime, and audiences may have been waiting to see it later. [19] It made $2.6 million the following weekend, dropping 51% to 12th. [24]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 80% of 300 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.80/10.The website's consensus reads: "Smart, timely, and brought to life by a terrific cast, Late Night is a workplace comedy with a lot of heart—and just as many laughs." [25] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [26] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars, with women (who made up 71% of the demographic) grading it an overall positive score of 80%. [19]
A.O. Scott of The New York Times described the film's humor as "sharp" yet "cruelty-free", and wrote, "[Late Night] argues that entertainment benefits from the presence of different faces and voices not by preaching but by example." [27] Owen Gleiberman of Variety magazine called the film "lively yet scattershot" and praised Thompson's performance, saying "Thompson truly seems like a born talk-show host. Even when she's just riffing, she grounds Late Night in something real." [28]
Anthony Kaufman of ScreenDaily also praised Thompson for "a memorable performance as the abrasive 'cold witch,' as someone describes her, perhaps even outdoing Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada as a delightfully wicked woman of power." [29] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly also praised Thompson's performance, saying her "gravitas holds the center," and that "the best scenes in Late Night are consistently the ones where the movie's main stars spar and banter and intermittently connect." Greenblatt praised director Nisha Ganatra for refreshing classic romantic comedy tropes, but added that the tone is at times "scattershot and sometimes too sitcom-ish." [30]
Alissa Wilkinson of Vox said "Late Night is a workplace comedy that feels like a cousin of The Devil Wears Prada , and its greatest strength is its two lead characters." She also wrote, "Late Night feels underwritten in some spots, but it's surprising in others—an unfussy, entertaining comedy with some serious matters on its mind." [31] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair described it as "a genial, funny movie, not a mile-a-minute behind-the-cameras gag-fest (hyphens!) like 30 Rock , but an amiable workplace comedy that finds personal definition in its influences." [32] Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com rated the film three and a half out of four stars, specifying that is "an earnest and funny comedy, with very sharp teeth." [33]
