Fly Me to the Moon (2024) Columbia/Comedy RT: 132 minutes Rated PG-13 (some strong language) Director: Greg Berlanti Screenplay: Rose Gilroy Music: Daniel Pemberton Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski Release date: July 12, 2024 (US) Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, Jim Rash, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Christian Clemenson, Colin Woodell, Nick Dillenburg, Christian Zuber, Gene Jones, Joe Chrest, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Colin Jost, Peter Jacobson.
Rating: ***
We’ve all heard the conspiracy theorists say the 1969 moon landing was fake, that it never happened. They claim the live footage America watched on television was secretly pre-filmed by Stanley Kubrick on the orders of the government. Fly Me to the Moon, a rom-com set around that pivotal moment in 20th century history, is a funny take on that theory. It’s also one that will likely go over the heads of younger viewers who can’t conceive of a time when humans couldn’t easily travel into space. I was the only one laughing at the Kubrick line in the trailer.
For the most part, I like Fly Me to the Moon. It’s entertaining. However, it has difficulty settling on an identity. Sometimes it’s a retro rom-com about a mismatched pair finding love with each other. Sometimes it’s a witty political satire about when the Space Race and Cold War collided. That’s the part I like best. Sometimes it’s a drama about remorse, something the two main characters have in common. Each thing, on its own, isn’t bad. The problem is the director Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon) can’t seem to find the right balance. The result is a film that’s tonally all over the place. It’s still pretty good, but it could have been great.
It’s 1969 and the men at NASA are trying like hell to put a man on the moon before the Russians beat them to it. Congress isn’t completely on board and the rest of the country is preoccupied with the Vietnam War. They’re going to need some help selling the idea to the American people. Enter Kelly Jones (Johansson, Marriage Story), a New York ad executive recruited by a shadowy government type (Harrelson, The People vs. Larry Flynt) to take charge of publicity. Launch director Cole Davis (Tatum, Magic Mike) hates the idea. He takes the Apollo 11 mission very seriously and with only seven months to work out all the scientific bugs, he doesn’t have time to screw around.
Cole has his meet-cute with Kelly at a bar in Cocoa Beach, FL. He stops her from setting herself and the place on fire. They flirt a little before he leaves. The next day she shows up at his workplace. He’s unpleasantly surprised to find out she’s going to be the pain in his ass until blast off. They bicker at first, but eventually re-realize they’re attracted to each other. Well, you know how the story goes.
Kelly turns things around at NASA. They get the funding they need. She gets a few senators on board through trickery and manipulation. Those are her specialties. The mission seems headed towards success yet the government guy still has doubts. He orders Kelly to covertly shoot a successful moon landing on a soundstage to be used in the event of failure. She can’t tell anybody, not even Cole. This becomes a moral quandary. She loves the big patriotic lug, but she faces big problems if she tells him what’s happening behind his back.
Some of the funniest parts of Fly Me to the Moon involve the making of the fake moon landing. In desperate need of a director who’s available and cheap, Kelly brings in Lance (Rash, Community), a flamboyant and temperamental filmmaker with Tab soda running through his veins. He nearly steals the show with his hissy fits and snarky remarks. He’s the guy that makes Kelly wish she hired Kubrick.
I love Scarlett Johansson. She’s smart, talented and gorgeous which makes playing Kelly not much of a stretch for her. She nails it as the female version of Don Draper from Mad Men. This is one little lady who can play with the big boys and win. She’s also a lady with a past she doesn’t want anyone to know about. This is where the remorse drama figures into the equation. Cole is carrying guilt of his own over the failure of Apollo 1. In the role, Tatum is okay. I’ve always thought of him as beefcake, nothing more. He’s handsome and well-built, but his acting ability leaves something to be desired. He’s better in Fly Me to the Moon than I expected him to be. It’s not Oscar-level acting, but it’s a noticeable improvement over the Magic Mike movies.
Now here’s the problem. As good as each actor is on his and her own, they have no chemistry with each other. Her effervescence doesn’t mesh with his stoicism like it should. Their back-and-forth banter doesn’t have the same sting as…. oh, let’s say Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. Or if you prefer a more recent example, Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell in last year’s Anyone But You. I’ll admit they make an attractive looking pair, but the sparks just aren’t there.
One more little criticism and I’m done. At 132 minutes, Fly Me to the Moon is longer than it needs to be. Berlanti could’ve tightened things up a bit. Fortunately, it’s never boring. It’s interesting watching everybody working towards a common and seemingly impossible goal, putting our guys on the moon. Berlanti recreates the time period perfectly with the vintage clothes, cars and interiors not to mention the ads Kelly comes up with for the astronauts (Tang anyone?). The supporting cast is a big help. Harrelson is humorously menacing as the government guy. Donald Elise Watkins (The Underground Railroad) and Noah Robbins (The Outcasts) are a winning pair as a couple of NASA tech geeks. It’s a fun and enjoyable movie albeit an imperfect one. Still, I’ll take it over another superhero movie any day of the week.
