The movie needed to be longer.

Rating: 3/10 (7 June 2006)

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The movie Good Night and Good Luck looks at the battle between Joe McCarthy and Ed Murrow during the 1950's over Joe's obsession with finding Communists in the United States. Ed Murrow is played by David Strathairn who has been in such classics as League of Their Own and Sneakers. David does an excellent job of playing Ed Murrow and it is amazing how he hasn't gotten bigger parts in Hollywood cause in my opinion this guy is right up there with William H. Macy as one of the most talented actors in recent times.
The overall look and feel of the movie is right on with making you feel like you are watching actual footage of the 1950's even to the point that when they are showing TV clips of Ed Murrow it sounds just like 50's TV should sound. However this is where the greatest of this film ends.
Just a fair warning, I had issues with this film from the beginning primarily because it is one of the selected few movies that the "Academy" has chosen as best picture this year. And since I have serious issues with the "Academy" not selecting Walk the Line as a best picture nominee my expectation are that a movie like this should surpass that brilliant film. That being said, I thought this movie was fair but no where near a Best Picture candidate. First off this movie is only an 1hr and 20 minutes long, OK maybe an 1 hour and 30 minutes long but that only takes into account the stupid commercials at the beginning and previews that made me even more angry. (More on that in a bit). Yes you heard me right an 1hr and 20 minutes long and it could have easily been a 3 hour movie (also known as the "edited" version of any Peter Jackson film). Now it may be the fact that I am in my 20's but this movie did a very poor job of explaining the background of film or the era. I really don't know who Ed Murrow was expect for recognizing the name kind of like when you see someone that you know but you can for the life of you remember their name. I would have really enjoyed to know how Ed Murrow ended his career with CBS and how the effect of his attacks on Joe McCarthy ended. But once we get to that point they just decided to end the film leaving you with the sense that you wanted more. I just think that this movie falls way short of any movie goer's expectation.
Secondly, this movie has Robert Downy Jr. in it where he plays a team member of the CBS team that supports Ed Murrow. After viewing this film I came to the conclusion that Robert Downy Jr.'s character has absolutely no point. The only thing that we really find out about Robert Downy is that he is married to another person at CBS and that is a no-no. So, would someone that saw this movie please explain to me what the point of his character was? I do have a theory on this. I think that because Robert Downy Jr. is still chummy with a lot of his Hollywood pals that this was a way for him to get a 7 figure check to continue to support his drug habit. Where else can a guy that has been busted for drug use several times still continue to pick up a check that size. Everyone complains about Baseball players using steroids (a drug) but when it comes to actors it is acceptable. Come on, if Joe Blow got busted for drugs as many times at Robert Downy Jr. they would be serving 8-15 in the state pen with their new friend Bubba. I guess it is just a sad statement on society when a guy like this still goes on collecting huge checks and no one says a word.
OK back to the commercials before the show. Pepsi has a new commercial out featuring Jimmy Fallon dancing like an idiot after drinking some Pepsi. One question for you Jimmy Fallon, how is your career going? Good choice on leaving SNL. Commercials like this make me want to stop using their products. Some of these major companies like Pepsi should do some sort of study that ask question like "After viewing this commercial are you a) more likely to use our product b) Now hate our product and are never going to use it again. Guess which one I would choose? I would say that you shouldn't waste your time or money to see this movie. I would recommend renting this movie if the movie store was all out of movies and your choices came down to Caddyshack 2, Gone Fishing or a Thin Red Line. If you really want to see a movie that does a better job of covering the era and Joe McCarthy I would recommend picking up a copy of Guilty by Suspicion with Mr. DeNiro. But then again what do I know, I am just part of the dumb public that still pays for movies like this.