Perfect film for the holiday season than Hidden Figures: an inspirational, family-friendly historical drama about three black women whose work at NASA was instrumental in putting John Glenn into orbit around Earth.
That could have been the recipe for a much hokier film, but the story — based on a book by Margot Lee Shetterly — is just Hollywood enough to stay entertaining, but smart enough to know how important its story is. Director Theodore Melfi ( St. Vincent) sticks to every convention of the genre, but sometimes conventions are there for a reason. The story works, and the characters shine. ( Pharrell Williams executive-produced the movie and supervised its soundtrack, which also helps account for its overall buoyancy.
