If the last few years have taught us anything its how the media can help to control our everyday lives and what we hear about. Breaking News in Yuba County focuses on this for a small town and how one person can have a larger effect on the lives of many.
Breaking News in Yuba County (directed by Tate Taylor) follows the story of Sue Buttons (Alison Janney) who finds out that her husband is having an affair. When her husband dies from a heart attack she uses it to her advantage to become a celebrity through the news. Sue informs the world that her husband has been kidnapped and a media storm ensues engulfing everyone around her and her husband.
It is an interesting idea for a film, especially when you consider the state of news today, but the film becomes lost in its own story. There are a lot of characters in Yuba County, each with their own goal, and the focus is taken away from the central story of Sue trying to get the attention of family, friends and well everyone.
The film stars some great actors and there’s a favourite for everyone here from Awkwafina acting like a crazy lady to Jimmi Simpson’s character trying to fix everything. Alison Janney is the star as she has a great performance of essentially pretending to not know what is going on and Wanda Sykes stands out for her the comedic timing.
Unfortunately, great actors don’t make a great film and while Yuba County isn’t a bad film it also isn’t a remarkable film. Yuba County is the type of film you watch once and then forget about. The film doesn’t do anything different from what you’re expecting or want to happen and stays its course the whole time to the point where you know how the film is going to end.
The media circus aspect of Yuba County is achieved well and you get a scale for how small the town is and how the news gets to everyone in town. The look at the media is interesting but the film could’ve done with doubling down on that aspect of the story rather than filling the story with excess characters.
Breaking News in Yuba County is constrained by its own story. The film is the type of story that has to end in one particular way and that is the film’s massive downfall because it takes a lot of the excitement out of the story. Breaking News in Yuba County is an enjoyable watch but destined to be lost on a streaming service one day.