The Pitch: In late 1968, Richard Nixon has simply been elected President, and America’s pleasure over the house race has begun to fade — sadly, simply as NASA wants much more funding for its quest to lastly attain the moon. So a shadowy fixer by the identify of Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) hires promoting maven Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) to assist promote the significance of Apollo 11 to the American public… a lot to the dismay of NASA launch director Cole (Channing Tatum), who simply desires to ensure his astronauts get there and again safely.
Cole has no concept that Moe’s tasked Kelly with a secondary mission — not solely is she doing her finest to promote NASA to the individuals, however she’s serving to to stage a “back-up” model of the Apollo 11 mission, to be filmed secretly on a soundstage simply in case one thing ought to go flawed on the actual mission. And whereas Kelly’s made a life out of mendacity, due to the sentiments brewing between her and Cole, mendacity to him about this could be the hardest factor she’s ever performed.
Berlanti Blasts Off: Fly Me to the Moon represents a little bit of a throwback: A period-set romantic comedy with components of farce and heist, that includes two huge film stars taking part in distinctive characters falling in love with one another. It assembles all this stuff with a cheerful and honest coronary heart, one which generally veers a bit into cheese, however by no means in an overtly offensive approach.
Director Greg Berlanti is much less identified for his film work than he’s for his tv empire (he presently govt produces 5 completely different TV collection airing in 2024, which is definitely form of low for him — he set a report in 2018 for EPing 18 completely different collection without delay). Nevertheless, his prior movies are all fairly according to this one — affable rom-coms with an additional bit extra, whether or not it’s a coming-out/coming-of-age story (Love, Simon) or a story about grief (Life as We Know It).
Together with his fourth movie, Berlanti proves fairly assured behind the digicam, although the ambition right here is bigger. With a Mad Males-esque aptitude for glorying within the period’s model names and tradition (each Tang and smoking on airplanes are given outstanding placement on display screen), the Nineteen Sixties will get maybe a rosier therapy than that decade is due, although the nostalgia he brings to the house program is inspiring in its approach.
Key to this can be a fairly stable recreation of all the Apollo 11 mission, from the meeting of the craft that may convey Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon, to the precise moonwalk itself. The credit characteristic loads of NASA consultants, and there are lots of particulars that really feel spot on — even whereas the extra farcical components of Kelly’s pageant happen within the background.
Fly Me to the Moon (Sony/Apple)
