Director Tate Taylor can really draw in some top tier names to his films, but rarely does the finished product equal the potential of the material on paper. An early-career hit in the form of the Oscar-friendly The Help gave him some Hollywood clout, but his career since then has been a rollercoaster of dull trash (The Girl on the Train), campy thrillers (Ma) and sleepy action films (Ava). With his latest film, Breaking News In Yuba County, he returns to the small town life while crafting a poor facsimile of a Coen Bros. story in this dark crime comedy. A recent viewing of Drop Dead Gorgeous provided a perfect template for how a film can deftly handle eccentric characters in a morbid tale in a way that is darkly funny and narratively fulfilling. Despite sharing two cast members from that film, Allison Janney and Ellen Barkin, the script from Amanda Idoko does not feel fully realized from a narrative point of view or in the consistency of jokes. The strong cast of performers may keep you entertained in the moment, but this is not a new comedic classic.
It is Sue Buttons’ (Allison Janney) birthday and no one cares. Sue is a woman who has been neglected by pretty much everyone around her; her co-workers at the suicide hotline basically stepped over her to celebrate a colleague’s birthday instead; and her reporter sister Nancy (Mila Kunis) most certainly forgot. To be fair, so did her despicable banker husband Karl (Matthew Modine, Full Metal Jacket), but with the added insult that he is also cheating on her. When Sue tracks him down at a low-rent motel and catches him in the act with his mistress (Bridget Everett), Karl drops dead mid-pump. The sensible thing would be for Sue to call the police and report the death of her husband. Sue is not in a reasonable headspace, though; tired of being overlooked, Sue seeks to gain attention by any means necessary by burying Karl’s body with his suitcase and reporting him missing. After all, the deliciously over-the-top media personality Gloria Michaels (Juliette Lewis) has been devoting all of her airtime to a missing child, so why can’t Sue get some of that spotlight?
With this plot thread alone, the film possibly could have made an interesting critique of media culture and the depths one goes to in order to obtain fame, a la Drop Dead Gorgeous, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Sue was too busy burying Karl to take notice that the suitcase she was burying with him was filled with a sizable fortune. Karl just so happened to be part of a larger criminal money laundering operation, and his sudden unexplained disappearance sets off a domino effect of intimidation and crime that will leave a path of bodies that is frankly ridiculous. Karl’s furniture dealer brother (Jimmi Simpson, Black Mirror) gets help from his enthusiastic coworker (Wanda Sykes, Friendsgiving) when he starts getting pressured by the local criminal outfit (Awkwafina and Clifton Collins Jr.). This duo have an interesting dynamic in this malevolent role, but they are written to be ridiculously reckless, especially when it comes to interacting with Karl’s legit coworkers (Chris Lowell, GLOW).
The movie does a decent job of keeping the dark criminal elements coming, but rarely does anything truly shock you or punch you in the gut. Every individual is given so little to work with that in the end most characters seem expendable. At best, most of the characters in the film register as stupid with the choices they make on their path. The one person with the level head in the film, and the person that brings these two narratives together, is detective Cam Harris (Regina Hall, clad in a mullet in an attempt to undermine her boss-level nature). Detective Harris is putting the pieces together as more crimes start to rock this sleepy community, but ultimately it is Sue who most vexes her. Being the only person who sees through her convoluted lies, detective Harris patiently weather the numerous media appearances and all around gaslighting that Sue puts for in search of some good old-fashioned sympathy. All of the performers are at the very least good, but Janney and Hall have a sizzling dynamic that elevates the film better than the script would have them do.
Breaking News In Yuba County has pretty much everything one could want on paper. A twisty dark comedy with an all-star cast such as this seems like a home run. You might even have a pleasant time watching these performers on screen in the moment, but as the film rolls along the return on time invested gets less and less. There are funny jokes, but not enough of them. There are minor plot holes at first, and they slowly get big enough to drive a truck through by the end. There are certain pathways that the film could have explored to achieve something close to brilliance, but these opportunities were mostly squandered in favor of creating something that is a decent weekend time waster with not much replay value. The film is not an all-out disaster, but to have a level of talent attached to this feature and not have it be better almost feels worse.
Video Quality
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Breaking News In Yuba County to Blu-Ray with a really lovely 1080p video presentation. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design from the dingy house that Sue calls home to the immaculately lit news stations, along with the fabrics of clothing, provide crystal clear textural details. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs nice splashes of bold colors within the production design, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky with no discernible digital noise. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups, especially when said faces start to be covered in cuts and bruises. This Blu-Ray is a top-tier representation of this movie.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures these busy locations beautifully. There is little in the way of pure action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. When the characters are walking through the bowling alley, there are some really nice ambient details that flesh out the setting. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. The various sound effects, including gunshots and a raging fire, engage the low end of the track in a forceful manner. The audio track is an excellent sounding presentation for this feature in all respects.
Special Features
There are no special features included on this disc.
Final Thoughts
Breaking News In Yuba County is a film that theoretically has all of the goods for a rollicking fun time, but the execution misses the mark when it comes to creating something truly memorable. The talented ensemble put in strong work, especially Allison Janney and Regina Hall, but the script often proves to be too inconsistent for its own good. There is delightfully dark, fun energy that movies like this need to survive, and this particular one is running low on it. Warner Bros. has provided a Blu-Ray disc that sports a great A/V presentation for those who do decide to check it out. Fans of the ensemble may find this one a decent time waster if they decide to check it out.
Breaking News In Yuba County is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
