Holly Hunter is a treasure and she sparked in Broadcast News. She shines so wholly that she almost eclipses her co-stars Albert Brooks and William Hurt. James L. Brooks wrote and directed this Oscar-nominated film (seven of them, including best picture, actress, actor, supporting actor and didn’t take home one) that lets a love triangle play out against the world of broadcast news.

Hunter is Jane, a brilliant news producer, she’s wound a little tight, but she knows how to tell a story, and she is worried about the commercialization of the news, the dumbing down of the media and the uninformed public.

Working by her side is Aaron (Brooks) a sharp-as-tacks writer, news reporter, and narrator who wants a shot at the big desk of the host, and maybe one day, network anchor. But that’s where Tom (Hurt) comes in. He may not be astute, he may not understand the stories he’s reporting, but he’s a good-looking guy who knows how to sell a story.

And Jane is intrigued by him, despite the fact that he represents everything she hates. Throw in Aaron who is in love with Jane, and you have a love triangle for the ages filled with smart dialogue, as well as questions of morals and ethics as the film takes a look at how news programmes began to change in the 80s into what they are today.

The film is rounded out with a fantastic supporting cast that includes Joan Cusack, Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles and a small, but incredibly vital role for Jack Nicholson.

But through the entire film, it’s Hunter that you can’t take your eyes off. She’s luminous, funny, smart, and damn Jane knows her job. She is the best at what she does, and her friendship with Aaron is very recognizable for a number of us who have fallen in love with our best friend only to have them love someone else.

And Tom, well, Tom may not be Aaron or Jane’s type of reporter, but he has what the network wants, and he knows how to milk his image, and his story.

I hadn’t watched this film in about twenty years, but I was absolutely delighted in how well it has stood the test of time, how the media it is dealing with is still suffering from the same issues, and the wonderfully funny and heart-wrenching love story that happens away from the studio’s cameras.

Broadcast News remains an entertaining story filled with laughs, tears, and some serious posers on news, reporting, and what the public wants versus what they should need. This one was a lot of fun, and the entire cast is perfectly on point, and nothing has made me laugh as loud in quite some time as the sequence of Cusack’s Blair running a tape from recording booth to studio to make it in time for a cut-in on live television.

Brilliant.