'Hidden Figures': A crowd-pleaser with the audacity to be sweet

There is bit of a maddening genre of Hollywood movies that attempt to portray inspirational stories on the subject of race. They tend to be very well-intentioned, and even sometimes boast powerhouse performances, but more often than not they collapse under the weight of their own self-congratulatory self-importance -- think The Butler, or The Help.

When I first heard about Hidden Figures -- which pays homage to the tireless work of three, largely unknown African-American women who were vital members of the team at NASA in the early days of the space program -- I was intrigued, but also wary. Was this going to be another cheesy civil rights highlights film?

Now, having seen Hidden Figures, I can safely say it is not. Sure, it is a very sweet movie, even arguably a sentimental one, but it also doesn't condescend to its audience, it's very well acted and its gives so-called "feel good movies" a good name.

The movie looks great, sounds great (thanks to a buoyant soundtrack featuring Pharrell), but what really makes this very enjoyable film soar is its performances.

Taraji P. Henson finally gets a lead role worthy of her talents here. Although she has the least flashy role of the three stars, she is incredibly sympathetic, warm and believable. Octavia Spencer turns in yet another one her solid, stirring turns. But for me the real find here is singer Janelle Monae, who in this film and earlier in Moonlight, really lights up the screen and proves to be a formidable actress. She seems poised to be a real movie star, as long as Hollywood wakes up and takes notice.

Also, I can't say enough by how much I appreciated Kevin Costner's supporting work here. Unlike some films that purport to be about black characters but shoehorn a white lead in to placate audiences (again, The Help), Costner's role is very clearly in the background here. But, he is riveting in a part that should remind audiences of why he was once a leading A-list movie star, and a truly underrated, naturalistic actor.

And while the film itself certainly isn't groundbreaking from a filmmaking perspective, the story itself is so intriguing and illuminating that its high points feel well-earned and truly touching. There are no mustache-twirling, over-the-top racist villains here.

Instead, the film wisely and subtly portrays the kind of benevolent, passive-aggressive bigotry that these women experienced because they were black and because they were women. And their victories, while compelling, were small in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, I have no idea how accurate the movie is -- there are moments that feel a little too cinematic to be true, but I've always felt the best biopics make you want to go out and learn more about the subject matter on which they're based, and that certainly in the case with Hidden Figures.

I left this movie with a smile on my face and a song in my heart -- and the conviction that this film deserves to be a hit. If it ultimately is, and it ought to be since it truly is as good as mass appeal dramas get -- it will be a great blueprint for how 20th Century-set historical films can be, and proof that stories headlined by women of color need not be whitewashed.