Fly Me to the Moon Review
Fly Me to the Moon (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Greg Berlanti, written by Keenan Flynn, Rose Gilroy and Bill Kirstein and starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, Jim Rash, Peter Jacobson, Christian Clemenson, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Anna Garcia, Kylee Nicole Peck, Colin Woodell, Joe Chrest, Noah Robbins, Bill Barrett, Greg Kriek, Kelsi Macaluso, Alex Veadov and Tim Ware.
Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in director Greg Berlanti’s earnest, yet humorous drama, Fly Me to the Moon, which embodies the theme of faking it until you make it. It’s about the Apollo 11 trip to the moon but that’s not what drives the movie. The characters do. This movie is hugely entertaining and reminds one of the great movies Penny Marshall used to direct in her prime. I don’t know if she’s ever done a film quite like this but it feels that Marshall would have been right at home with this type of zany and romantic premise. Berlanti is more than up to the task of keeping audiences both entertained and fascinated by the movie’s off-the-wall premise and is more than capable of bringing out the talents of his well-assembled cast.
Set in the late 1960’s, Johansson plays “Kelly Jones,” an ambitious woman who is talking to businessmen about what kind of cars she thinks they drive during the movie’s opening stages. Kelly sticks a fake belly under her dress to pretend she’s pregnant and she gets the big suits in her hands like putty by the time she gets done talking to them. She’s a spin doctor of sorts who comes on board the efforts of the Apollo 11 team to make the trip to the moon a bit more sexy or accessible to the people of the country. So, why shouldn’t the image of an astronaut wearing a sexy watch be used to help out our country or why shouldn’t an astronaut be seen drinking Tang to help sell, well, Tang? Well, why not? This is America and the country’s inhabitants buy things to make the world go round so why shouldn’t the country that doesn’t do what’s easy but rather does what is hard help fund a trip to the moon by buying some products?
Kelly meets Tatum’s head honcho character, Cole Davis as he points out that one of her books has caught on fire. Kelly thinks it’s a joke. “No, I won’t stop, drop and roll with you,” she says. So, Cole is like a senior citizen compared to the other people working at NASA but he’s still a good age to fall in love with Kelly (who we learn has gone by many names during her lifetime as the story progresses).
When Woody Harrelson’s character, Moe Berkus, enters into the equation, we learn that the government is not exactly ready to see America fail and a director, Lance Vespertine (the perfectly cast Jim Rash) is hired to try to fake it until America makes it by creating the atmosphere of a moon landing right here on Earth. Why, you ask? Just in case the mission, Apollo 11, was to fail. That’s why.
There is a black cat who is deemed bad luck by Cole but gets to run around and have a good time while our heroes are struggling to make the best of an unpredictable situation. I loved when Kelly takes a key worker’s access pass and lets herself into the research facility to see what’s going on and ask questions. When Cole forbids her from staying around the premises, she employs actors to hype up the mission to the moon. And, more importantly, make it look sexy to America. Maybe, sexy is the wrong word but appealing is definitely a proper word to describe how America should be perceiving the work of NASA.
Woody Harrelson steals the scenes he’s in as his character lets Kelly know he means business. Moe is in this situation for the long-term and failure is not an option. Unfortunately, the premise is more believable than not and we see how the government wanted the country to look strong and powerful regardless of the outcome of the mission to the moon.
Scarlett Johansson shines in her best performance in years. She’s playing a character who is strong, capable and full of passion. She is not the easiest person to get along with but Cole takes a liking to her and the two forge a bond that is both touching and believable. I just wish there was more romance to keep the momentum of the plot moving forward but there’s certainly enough to make viewers feel satisfied throughout the film’s lengthy running time.
The supporting cast is top notch with Ray Romano’s family man character, Henry Smalls, a truly intriguing and relatable soul looking to score a victory for America. Anna Garcia is also highly likable as Kelly’s assistant. There are a number of interesting scenarios throughout the movie, not the least of which involves Moe trying to fake footage of the moon landing. That pesky cat may just get into the picture and spoil everything for America if Kelly and Cole don’t play their cards right.
If Harrelson steals plenty of scenes here, Jim Rash flat out runs away with them. As the director determined to do what he has to do with his budget to pull the wool over people’s eyes, Rash takes this role and makes it his own, running away with every scene he’s in. Rash’s is the type of supporting turn actors love to play and this role could just lead to an Oscar nomination for Rash for Best Supporting Actor. Harrelson’s work isn’t far behind and both of these thespians are at the top of their game.
This is Tatum and Johansson’s mid-career highlight of a movie. Fly Me to the Moon doesn’t ask the audience for anything other than the willingness to believe that America could be overprotective of itself. It most certainly is. Tatum and Johansson have plenty of steamy chemistry on-screen but it’s ultimately the thought-provoking nature of the plot that drives this film to the moon and back. We’ve been faking it until we make it as a country for a good deal of our existence and the good news is that we’ve made it most of the time even when times were rough. America means business but the human spirit can be the driving force behind our victories as this film points out. This picture is a winner.
Rating: 8/10
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