In the early 1960s a group of super smart female, African-American mathematicians (Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe) were employed by NASA. They were integral in getting the first astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) into space. However, the shackles of segregation and the ignorance of white bosses made their work almost impossible.

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Director Ted Malfi made Margot Lee Shatterly's non-fiction book into a very entertaining movie. However, the film focusses, supported by the cheery, toe-tapping soundtrack by Pharrell Williams, too much on issues like empty coffee cans and far away toilets. It skirts the edges of being a feel-good movie, which doesn't lend the topic the weight and importance it deserves. If Katherine, Dorothy and Mary were three white, male mathematicians who had to overcome obstacles, the movie would have fallen in line with A Beautiful Mind or The Theory of Everything come Oscar-Sunday. Unfortunately, the movie's eagerness to please could cost it and its excellent actresses their chances for an Academy Award.