It wouldn’t be precisely fair to call Roach an Adam McKay imitator.

Whaaat? Where’d that fourth wall come from? Photo: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle SMPSP Like that movie and McKay’s follow-up Vice, Bombshell is an attempt to retell recent history with big stars, irreverent energy, and a healthy dose of message-movie righteousness - something fresher and more fired-up than the staid historical dramas of yore. The screenplay credit brings it home: The movie was written by Charles Randolph, who shared an Oscar win with Adam McKay for The Big Short. Bombshell’s impressive cast features an all-star ensemble, including a roster of high-profile supporting players. Its director, Jay Roach, has worked extensively in comedy, on films like Dinner for Schmucks and Meet the Parents. So might Bombshell’s behind-the-scenes bona fides. This media-savvy, self-aware treatment of nearly-current events might feel familiar.

Jess, a closeted lesbian and closeted Democrat, tells Kayla that a great Fox story is something that will terrify her grandmother or enrage her grandfather. Later in the film, fictional new recruit Kayla (Margot Robbie) gets the lay of the land from Jess, a fellow reporter played by Kate McKinnon, the woman who impersonates roughly half of Washington DC on the current iteration of Saturday Night Live. Though she doesn’t exactly tip her hand about the network’s propaganda machine, she delivers exposition and asides with a knowing smile. With impeccable, appropriate TV-presenter style, she gives the audience a tour of Fox News headquarters. Early in Bombshell, a new docudrama about sexual harassment at the Fox News cable channel, anchor Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) breaks the fourth wall.

The big short showing