Cert 15 102mins Stars 3

Tune into this comedy-drama to watch Emma Thompson dig deep into her stand-up comic roots to compensate for the deficiencies of a well-intentioned but tame and clumsy script.

The two-time Oscar winner plays a TV chat show host whose ratings slump threatens the shutdown of her career, so in desperation she employs an inexperienced woman of colour to freshen up her writing team of entitled whinging white guys.

Scriptwriter and actor Mindy Kaling plays the eager Molly Patel, and her screenplay draws heavily on her own experience of being a ‘diversity hire’ as a writer of the US version of TV’s The Office.

However her millennial point of view patronises Thompson’s character and age group, by suggesting a middle-aged woman twenty year high profile media career wouldn’t comprehend the importance of social media.

Important points are made about employment gatekeeping and inequality, but for a room full of supposed comedy writers, it’s insufficiently funny.