Fly Me to the Moon is not a movie I ever planned to review, for one reason only. I’d never heard of it! So the story of how I came to watch this movie is almost as fun as my thoughts on it.
When it’s cold and dark and rainy, it’s the perfect time for a movie. But I’ll be honest, in that kind of weather, I’m more inclined to sit under a blanket in the comfort of my own home and stream the latest true crime documentary. But summer? Summer is for movies. Fun, light-hearted movies or big blockbusters – I’ll take whatever you got.
And that’s the premise behind AMC’s new gimmick, Screen Unseen. Typically, twice a month, on Monday at 7pm (which one can assume must be the slowest movie night of the week), AMC invites moviegoers to buy a discounted ticket ($5 for me) to see a not-yet-release movie. Think of it as paying for a sneak preview.
Here’s the plot twist. You don’t know what the movie is until it starts! So, we had no idea of the stars or the plot or anything other than the rating (PG-13).
Last night, my son and I threw caution to the wind thinking about the worst case scenario and what would make us actually walk out. Fun fact: I’ve only ever walked out of a movie once, and it was in college. Just before the movie started, we had a quick introduction from Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum inviting us to sit back and enjoy their new movie Fly Me to the Moon.
I leaned over to my teenage son and said, “Ooh, are we going to get a space movie?” to which he quickly replied, “No, it’s a romance,” clearly much to his dismay. Turns out, we were both kind of right.
Although I do spend plenty of time just watching and enjoying movies, I always have my critic hat on. And since I hadn’t heard anything about this movie and I’m not seeing many reviews at all, I thought it might be worth sharing a few thoughts on this light-hearted, period piece that’s space-adjacent and just a bit romantic.
The Plot
Scarlett Johansson plays fact-talking ad-woman, Kelly Taylor. We meet her mid-pitch presumably on Madison Avenue in the heart of NYC. She’s good at what she does. Real good. Too good. And so she’s recruited/coerced for a government mission by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to bring her spin skills to the great state of Florida to help revamp NASA’s image and secure congressional funding for that all-important mission to space, hence the name Fly Me to the Moon.
In case you’re not well-versed in the Space Race of the 1960s, it was less about putting a man on the moon than beating the Russkies to the punch. And as we all know, we did in 1969. Or did we?
She meets her match with Launch Director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), a Korean war veteran who, as a former wannabe astronaut, takes his job very seriously. But it’s Kelly and Moe that understand that the perception of a successful moon landing may be more important that the real thing.
The Setting
If you love the kitsch of 1960s Florida, especially on the Space Coast, you’ll love the hair, the clothes, the cans of Tab, and the cars. Oh yes, you’ll see a Camaro SS convertible, vintage Ford Mustangs and tons of Corvettes (they’re synonymous with astronauts after all!).
If you’re a space fan, specifically one that’s visited Kennedy Space Center, you’ll recognize the VAB, the launch pads, and the enormous Saturn rocket surely filmed on one of the visitor buildings. And the crew of the film was actually lucky enough to film a launch in 4K at the time of filming!
What I really loved, though, was the piece that will get conspiracy theorists tongues wagging. Kelly is asked to create a simulation of the moon landing just in case things go south. The film does a great of creating an alternate reality keeping in times with what would have been available in the 1960s. So was it real or was it fake? You’ll have to watch the film to find out but it does give some good food for thought!
The Cast
I’ll admit that I’m a Scarlett Johansson fan. I think she’s an excellent actress and I’d watch her in just about anything (one of my favorite performances of hers is from the film Jojo Rabbit). Her effortless charms shines through here. She’s able to keep it light yet convey a bit of her dark background and she has some truly poignant moments with other cast members.
In fact, she’s what saves Fly Me to the Moon from a dreadful rating because of one man… Channing Tatum. If there was one incredibly miscast awkward piece of acting in this movie, it’s Mr. Tatum. It’s not that he’s a bad actor. He just really has no range. He’s like a more dramatic version of John Cena. And I just didn’t believe that this big hulking man possessed the brains or the skills to be Launch Director (and apparently had been for years).
However, he does have chemistry with Scarlett Johansson so if you can tolerate his mediocre performance, you’ll still thoroughly enjoy the movie.
Overall Review
Fly Me to the Moon just feels like the overall summer movie I like. Light, fluffy, fun, but with substance. Good acting (including a nice turn by Ray Romano), fun setting, and a story that will make you smile. A solid 8/10 from me.
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