Fly Me To The Moon
Written by Rose Gilroy (screenplay), Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein (story by)
Directed by Greg Berlanti
Starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson
Runtime 2 hours and 12 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 for smoking and some strong language
Opens in theaters July 12

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport and Editor in Chief

“They want you to sell the moon.”

Fly Me To The Moon is a competently made motion picture wrapped in lavish production design to ultimately deliver a piece of slick propaganda.

Living in the United States is not particularly exhilarating at the moment. Most would agree that it has not been for several decades and is consistently getting worse. When you live in a country that is run by and for corporations it is kinda hard to find the silver lining. America is a place that prioritizes a business entity over the life of a human being. It is a place that finds it more pertinent to arm people with weapons than with knowledge. Existing here is like being consumed by an eternal sink hole into pure blackness and despair. Based on the situation, it makes sense why many of us look back and grip on to the past with fondness. Nostalgia is the pill we pop to numb ourselves from the pain. Fly Me To The Moon zooms the viewer back to a moment in time when the states not only had something to root for but gave the country’s citizens a reason to be proud Americans.

What became known as the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States began in July 1955. However it was in May 1961 when the late John F. Kennedy (JFK) requested that Congress commit to providing dedicated funding to have a person successfully land on the moon and return safely to Earth by the end of the decade. Initially, support for this far reaching mission was rampant from constituents and political leaders but, as money waned coupled with a failed fatal expedition (Apollo 1) in 1967, people lost hope and patience. Fly Me To The Moon takes the viewer back to 1969, eight years after JFK made his illustrious moon proclamation. Scientists and engineers are still frantically trying to find a way to make it to the lunar surface despite the public’s lack of interest and government funds dwindling. To help bolster morale and overall national sentiment a mysterious government associate of President Nixon, Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) recruits a charlatan aka an advertising executive by the name of Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson). Kelly is a sharp, quick witted perpetual liar. These traits combined with her experience in the art of selling make her the perfect fit for the role with the government handling public affairs at NASA. Upon her arrival to Florida, she immediately has a run-in with the stringent Launch Director, Cole Davis (Channing Tatum).

Throughout the picture it is hard to tire of Johansson and Tatum, who provide a screwball comedy type feel that would rival the likes of Hepburn and Tracy. They not only keep the story moving, but held my interest with their charming dynamic and fabulous wardrobes. At one point Kelly starts hiring actors to play the parts of the NASA employees in order to conduct on-air interviews. This creates a humorous exchange in which the characters’ personalities face off. Cole being a serious, ethical, no-nonsense type while Kelly is constantly working an angle with little consideration for the repercussions. This is seen with the various sponsorship deals she makes with some of America’s great companies. The government brought her on to sell the moon and to her this means no product is off the table, from watches to underwear to the memorable Tang partnership. Kelly’s mindset and ability to wheel and deal is what funds the floundering project. There truly is nothing more American than turning a planetary sphere into a method to obtain cold hard cash.

As concern grows that the mission will fail, Kelly is asked by the illusive Moe Berkus to create footage of a fake moon landing. She initially meets this request with apprehension. Although, with the exposure of her troubled past dangling in front of her (compliments of Moe), she finds herself without a choice but to comply. There is also her overall pride, which drives her to see that the unimaginable becomes reality. Which in some ways is similar to the NASA engineers, it’s just that hers is more diabolic. The creation of a moon landing within the film adds some spice to the plot considering all the conspiracy theories surrounding the moonwalk footage being staged.

With the onslaught of crying that is heard from Tinseltown these days in regards to money at the box office, I could not help but ponder why this film was even made? As mentioned above, it is not a question of whether the movie is well made or not. It is adequate in every sense. Additionally, according to my partner in crime that attended the screening with me, the depiction of working within a bureaucratic system was extremely accurate. For instance, when there is more concern for the overall spectacle (ie cameras needed to be mounted to the rocket so that the landing could be televised) rather than the safety was something that rang rather true.

My only real complaint about the film is that it is a bit on the long side especially for a romantic comedy. I am a firm believer that a flick of this particular genre should not exceed a ninety-five minute runtime. My only assumption of why Fly Me To The Moon got the green light is that it is the last time in which America as a whole not only had something to celebrate, but this event also managed to bring the country together in some sort of meaningful way in the face of the Vietnam War and racial injustice (sound familiar?). No one has a problem with the moon. Vampires, werewolves… all creatures adore the moon. The moon is a symbol of hope, dreams, and even love.

Image from *It’s a Wonderful Life* (1946)

I can imagine that in 1969 witnessing what was thought conceivable only in science fiction stories become a reality was an extremely joyful and uplifting moment. It gave people something to believe in, cheer for and most importantly served as a reminder that the impossible was possible. It is kind of sad to think that in our present timeline there is not much to celebrate. My hope is that our best days are not behind us. Given these feelings I experienced after watching Fly Me To The Moon made me wonder… is this the ticket to the cinema the Hollywood execs believe the people will be clamoring for? I suppose with the inevitable dismal election race looming, a blast to the past may the distraction we all need.