Director Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon may be a rom com set during the Space Race over five decades ago, but this feature film is so much more. It is not only about the two lead actors being “over the moon” for each other. Some of us lived during the events that are now part of our history. It is good to have the experience of a film about said events decades later. I looked forward to this film and I was not disappointed after viewing. I know it is a Hollywood version of what happened, based on the script written by Rose Gilroy (with a story from Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein). It is a blast seeing the movie with the backstory of some of the characters and all they went through, including following orders “from the tippy top.”
Synopsis: Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, Fly Me To The Moon is a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up and the countdown truly begins…
Both characters, Davis and Jones quietly admire each other, but have personalities that clash when Davis is so serious about his job and Jones uses her skills to “sell the moon” – much like all the other sales jobs she has had in her past. A government agent, Moe (Woody Harrelson) arrives at NASA to consult with Kelly Jones about following some orders slightly aside from her marketing. When she is not fully on board, Moe has a file that he refers to about her past sales jobs. Jones must then move fast. Johansson and Tatum have good chemistry and they are excellent when they are both trying to get the job done despite all the factors that are in play.
The movie has excellent talent among its supporting cast. Ray Romano stands out as Cole’s second-in-command, Henry, who knows so much about what Cole has gone through and the whole mission. He is perfect in his role. Another cast member not to be missed is Jim Rash (“Community”) in the role of Lance Vespertine, the director hired to carry out the plan that Moe has required. He was very funny. Fly Me to the Moon created a character, Kelly’s assistant Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia), and developed them as having a close friendship between them. I was glad to see Garcia’s character have some substance in various scenes in the movie and not just the “errand runner” in the background. Garcia (“Hacks” and “Superstore” TV series) is one actress I would like to see more of in future productions. Additional cast includes Donald EliIse Watkins, Noah Robbins, Nick Dillenburg and others.
The score by Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) is fabulous and includes artists from the era, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and Jackie Wilson.
Fly Me to the Moon releases in theaters on Friday, July 12. It is 132 minutes long and rated PG-13 for some strong language, and smoking.
Source: Columbia Pictures
###