Fly Me To The Moon Review
It might be slightly saccharine, but this lunar-themed rom-com has enough fuel to get it to the moon and back.
Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is a marketing maven doing deals in New York, when Government spook Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) blackmails her into helping the Government sell the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Kelly heads down to Florida, where she meets Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), launch director for the mission, and while sparks initially fly between the straight-laced Cole and the spin Queen, romance also begins to blossom. But will it survive Moe’s biggest request of Kelly yet - to help him fake the moon landing?
Directed by Greg Berlanti, Fly Me To The Moon has a distinctly old-timey feel, and that isn’t just because it is a period piece. There is an earnestness, sweetness and sincerity to this movie that you just don’t find in modern films that often, and because of that you’ll find yourself giving the movie a lot of leeway.
Tatum and Johansson are both wonderful, but in particular Johansson’s sales and advertising schtick that has her switch accents and persona’s often. Harrelson is also having a blast and it comes across on screen; there’s a twinkle in the eye of all of his performance, and it makes it just a joy to watch.
The plot perhaps drags a tad, particularly given the marketing for the film really lays out the full story in the trailer, but there’s enough fun and frivolity to be had throughout that by the end, you’re genuinely rooting for Kelly and Cole to not only get together, but to achieve that moon landing vision that is so well known to us in the real world. Berlanti has also done enough with Kelly to really sell her transition from fast talking ad exec, to earnest space lover.
There’s nothing too complex here, but it looks great, is funny and heartwarming, and will keep you hooked; mission achieved.
