Director Theodore Melfi
Staring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe
Rated PG
Score 4/6

The story of a team of African-American women mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space program.

For those of you who are interested Hidden Figures is based on a 2016 book written by American nonfiction writer Margot Lee Shetterly Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race. Hidden Figures is also the highest-grossing film entirely fronted by African American Women since Sister Act.
Okay, going into Hidden figures if you switch off that part of your brain that always asks “How much of artistic license did Hollywood take this time?” you’ll find that it is a light, easy and funny movie to watch. How well will this translate when comes to the Academy Awards? It was a great story, though there really didn’t seem to be too much depth to any of the performances despite the high caliber actors that were cast. I suppose this could be because Hidden Figures was only the second time Theodore Melfi has been in the director’s chair? Possibly, considering that his first time directing St Vincent which starred Bill Murray was a comedy-drama. I also got the feeling that Jim Parson’s character who was one of the main antagonists of the movie was under-utilized in the movie.

When Hidden Figures is finally released on DVD I hope that the filmmakers don’t forget to add a couple of mini-documentaries in the extras.