“Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars. Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-by- Okay, I don’t know all the lyrics, but how could you not want to sing that iconic Tony Bennett song when you hear the new, funniest song title? Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum Movie?
Johnson plays Kelly Jones, a super-slick, super-smart marketing guru in New York City who is recruited by the mysterious government official Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), brought NASA’s Apollo space program back into public consciousness as the costs of the Vietnam War tempted Congress to defund the program. After reluctantly accepting his offer, not because she wants to but because Old Mo has something about her past, she and her assistant Ruby (Ana Garcia), head to Cocoa Beach. She soon had a “meeting” with Tatum’s Cole Davis, the director of the upcoming Apollo 11 mission.
Since this is a romantic comedy, the two have many conflicts while expressing their love. That is, quickly glance in the other person’s direction. But things start to get very heated between them when Moe steps in and asks her to fake a moon landing in case the Apollo mission fails.
Johnson and Tatum have great on-screen chemistry, but that’s only the result of this movie so far. The biggest problem is that it’s so long, coming in at just over two hours. director Greg Berlanti Some scenes could have easily been cut, especially in the second and third acts where things seemed bogged down by too much plot.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of good stuff, as there are plenty of funny moments, especially when Jim Rush Plays Lance Vespertine, the director of fake footage. He’s the kind of snot-nosed, obnoxious director you’ve seen in hundreds of other movies, but every time he’s on screen, Rush turns it up 20 notches and kills it. His back-and-forth with Harrelson in these scenes are some of the best in the movie. [Incidentally, why are the most obnoxious characters usually named Lance? Asking for… a friend.] There is also a very interesting part played by Mr. Scarlett Johansson herself, Colin Jostas a dumb senator.
We haven’t had a big screen romantic comedy for adults yet, so this movie is a bright spot on a hot summer day. But I do have a request for the writers behind the movie, Ross Gilroy, who wrote the screenplay, and Bill Costen and Keenan Flynn, who wrote the original story: Can you make Harrelson’s character his own movie? ? He’s great here, and it’s great to see him throw himself into everything from Watergate to the death of Elvis. Who is with me?
