For Breaking News in Yuba County, director Tate Taylor (The Help) takes a cast of veteran actors and a script by film newcomer Amanda Idoko and brings it to frantic life on the screen. The result is one of the finest black comedies in decades, if not ever.
Frumpy housewife Sue Buttons (Allison Janney) is the ultimate shrinking violet, not even confident enough to get her first name spelled correctly on a cake for the birthday that everyone forgot. Deciding to confront her husband Karl (Matthew Modine), she sees him with flowers and thinks she has ruined a surprise. Unfortunately, she is wrong and ends up embroiled in a plot that keeps getting bigger than she. This is just fine with Sue, who discovers that after years of being invisible, any kind of attention is good.
Black comedy requires a delicate balance of subtle humor combined with slightly over-the-top portrayals. Taylor manages this balance well, drawing the most nuanced performances from his entire cast. Through his direction, each of them reaches that summit without tumbling over into slapstick. An equal amount of credit needs to go to Idoko as well, whose script manages to make the characters not only credible but interesting. Unlike some other films of the genre, the story is not disjointed but instead engaging and fun.
Each cast member fits their part perfectly, and all deserve credit for their performances, but a few stand out above the others. Janney's turn as the unassuming Sue towers above the rest. She perfectly plays Sue's transformation as she realizes that she is important - at least to herself. Nearly as brilliant and insanely funny are Wanda Sykes and Awkwafina as people trapped within their own worlds but looking for just a little more. This is true of most of the characters, but these two leave a mark.
The soundtrack is a mix of two-parts lighthearted, one-part dark, and manages to set the mood throughout the film. Cinematography and lighting don't add anything to it. Still, it is nice that much of the film is bright rather than focusing on shadow to set the theme, allowing the darkness to be the plot and characters themselves.
Like most black comedies, Breaking News in Yuba County will appeal the most to a specific audience. Unlike most, it breaks that barrier into a realm that might draw additional fans into the genre, and that is the real story here.