Fly Me to the Moon is a hilarious alternate take on the Apollo 11 mission, that mixes romance, history and charm starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.
The Apollo 11 Moon landing is one of the greatest feats of human ingenuity. But did it really happen? Well, there’s a popular conspiracy theory that it didn’t. Fly Me to the Moon takes a revisionist, tongue-in-cheek approach to the event creating an alternate possibility that could have very well occurred. The result is a fresh, entertaining and witty comedy with one of the brightest stars of today’s cinema.
Scarlett Johansson plays Kelly Jones, a Manhattan based advertising executive (a chirpy Don Draper), regarded as one of the best ad campaigners. She is so good, in fact, that Moe Berkus (venomously played by Woody Harrelson), a shady official working for President Nixon offers her the job to sell NASA. Finding the offer too appealing to refuse, Kelly moves to Florida at the Kennedy Space Center.
There, she meets the launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) who now has to work with Kelly despite disagreeing with her on every level. Professional and ethical. They have one thing in common though; their attraction towards one another. But they are professional enough to not let that interfere with their work relationship, which is full of petty quarrels. For Kelly, selling NASA is an easy, rewarding task and she does it with style (the movie cleverly instils iconic adverts from that time with products such as Tang, Omega, etc.).
Kelly’s goal is to obtain the funding needed for Apollo 11 i.e., the mission to launch the first humans on the moon. So, she has to shmooze the members of Congress and work in tandem with Cole and his colleagues. But that’s not all. The paranoid Nixon cabinet wants to leave nothing to chance, pushing Kelly to shoot a Moon landing film in case Apollo 11 fails. They’d rather lie to the whole world than lose the Space Race against Russia. According to the movie, that is.
The movie refrains from taking itself too seriously which helps the unbelievable tale go down easy. The production and costume designers weren’t informed of the non-serious tone since the period specific designs are top-notch. The production value alone raises the movie above an ordinary comedy. The movie looks like a decent Hollywood spectacle, and the credit goes to Apple Original Films.
Tatum has made a career out of characters that are gullible and sweet. Cole is similar to them with an added dash of awkwardness and altruism. Jim Rash is the comedic highlight of the movie playing the vain director appointed to make the fake footage. But the movie is carried by Johansson’s capable shoulders as the lead. In any other time in cinema, Kelly would’ve been Ken or Kevin played by a George Clooney-type. But Johansson fits the role impeccably. Not a novice in the comedy genre and mentored by one of the best, Woody Allen, Johansson gives a physical comedic performance that is more in style with classic Hollywood comedies.Â
Fly Me to the Moon packs a lot in its 132 minutes. It’s a romantic comedy like Jerry MaGuire is a romantic comedy. While it lacks the depth or conflict of the latter, it has enough charm and originality to impress. And the most impressive part is the incredible finale that’s the icing on an already delicious cake. It’s a star-studded, high-value production that intends to simply entertain, and does that with good humour and flair.
Cole Davis – ‘If you need anything else, uh, maybe just go back to New York and get it. Have a good day.’
Ruby Martin – ‘Well, at least he’s easy on the eyes.’
Kelly Jones – ‘He’s hard on the ears, though.’