SummaryBrought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Channing 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 count...
SummaryBrought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Channing 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 count...
Even though the conspiracy theory that NASA faked the moon landing is deeply and depressingly cynical, there isn’t an ounce of cynicism in Greg Berlanti’s sweet, comical and joyous film. “Fly Me to the Moon” uses great screenwriting and good old-fashioned star power to bring a far-fetched concept back down to Earth.
The film doesn’t offer much wisdom about how we should deal with our growing unreality, but it is a charming diversion. In a way, its very shallowness is the point: Sometimes, the film posits, what we want to see matters more than what we actually do.
IN A NUTSHELL:
The story is about marketing maven, Kelly Jones, who wreaks havoc on Apollo 11’s launch director’s already difficult task of landing on the moon in 1969. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, the countdown between fact and fiction truly begins.
The fun flick was directed by Greg Berlanti. Writing credits go to Keenan Flynn, Rose Gilroy, and Bill Kirstein.
Already, the movie has been nominated for Best Comedy and Best Romance by the Golden Trailer Awards. The movie takes true history and massages it into a fun romantic comedy with heart. I really liked it and have been surprised at how low other film critics have rated it.
THINGS I LIKED:
The cast is fantastic and includes Scarlett Johannson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, Jim Rash, and a fun cameo from SNL’s news anchor Colin Jost.
Scarlett Johansson has always been beautiful to look at, but she has become a truly fine actress. She gives an outstanding performance and is the heart of this movie. She also worked as one of the producers on the film.
I love the line on the movie poster that asks, “Will they make it or fake it?” The film takes advantage of old conspiracy theories about faking the moon landing by offering it some legitimacy, and making it fun and clever.
We get to go to NASA in Cocoa Beach, Florida. My husband and I went on the tour for the general public a few years ago and left very impressed. How could we not? Everything there feels bigger than life.
I love the little details and research that went into this film. For example, they show a party at NASA and we see popular food on the tables such as “Pigs in a Blanket”, Jello molds, and other dishes from the 1960s.
We get to see some clips from the real footage of the Apollo 11 launch. Amazing.
There’s a black cat in the movie that plays a bigger role than you think it would. Cats have been showing up in a lot of movies lately, like the most recent A Quiet Place: Day One, Argylle, and, of course, The Garfield Movie.
Despite the long length of the movie, the time flew by and I didn’t even look at the time once. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
Fun fact: The movie was originally going to go straight to streaming but, after testing it with audiences who loved it, it was decided to launch with a theater premiere. Good choice! Any movie about going to the moon should be seen on the biggest screen possible, right?
The humor is smart and doesn’t talk down to the audience.
The costume designs by Mary Zophres really take you back to the 1960s.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
You KNOW there will be people who watch this movie who will believe it’s 100% fact.
We don’t get to see the talented Ray Romano do much in his small role.
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
Young kids will be bored. Teens might get a kick out of it if they can stay off their phones for more than a minute.
A public affairs lady lies and twists the truth in her marketing efforts.
Some profanity
Smoking
Alcohol
Dishonesty
What makes this romantic comedy fresh, in addition to the Johansson-Tatum duo, is the fact that it is inspired by a conspiracy theory that questioned the arrival of man on the Moon. It has enough to kill two hours with minimal pain.
Fly Me to the Moon, a breezily farcical variation on Apollo 11 history in which the truth prevails, is a time-capsule curiosity—marking a movie landscape that’s slowly fading, alongside our ability to tell fact from fiction in media of all kinds.
Match-making two stars with the natural zing of Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum ought to be a breeze. It’s funny, then, that this 1960s space-race caper specifically fails at being a romcom, because the “rom” keeps dragging us back to Earth.
Fly Me to the Moon’s foundational silliness could have been compensated for, and maybe even turned into the premise for a lightweight but charming romance, if not for two things: the failure to grapple with the larger historical implications of the fake-moon-landing subplot, and the fatal miscasting of Johansson and Tatum as oil-and-water opposites.
Fly Me To The Moon is a surprising little film (with a much bigger budget than expected; $100 million) that was a ton of fun to watch. Channing is charming and enjoyable while Scarlett shines with her many different accents and smooth **** times silly, other times touching, Fly Me to the Moon is one of those quaint films that is a really good pallet cleanser amongst the summer **** definitely would be great for a date night or if you simply want to be transported to a different time and highly entertained for a couple of hours.While its box office total will probably wish it was released later this year outside of the blockbuster season, it’s well worth a watch in theaters.
In wonderful '60s fashion and hair, Scarlett Johansson is simply fabulous as a marketing expert who's hired to sell NASA's Apollo moon program to the masses. Almost immediately, she butts head with the launch director (Channing Tatum) before the inevitable romance blooms. Their chemistry sparkles and the rest of the cast is filled with enjoyable performances (Jim Rash's director is especially amusing). The writing is sufficiently entertaining and Greg Berlanti's direction keeps things flying. Even the more emotional moments work. This is a big budget Hollywood flick that's checks the boxes for an entertaining romcom with a cool historical backdrop.
Ao lado de desastroso "Space cadet", chegou a vez da Apple lançar um filme sobre espaço desfilando seus modelos... quer dizer, atores... Mas aqui ao menos Scarlett Johansson e Channing Tatum estão realmente com uma química interessante, e memso que seus personagens beirem a caricatura, se saem muito bem. Gosto particularmente da inserção da discussão sobre o episódio de chegarà lua ser fake, pena que os coadjuvantes são bem maniqueístas, o filme todo não convence muito, parece mais algo pastelão mesmo. Ainda assim, sacadas sobre o uso político da corrida espacial e uma leve discussão sobre sonhos e ciência acrescentam bastante ao lugar comum a que o filme se dedicou, próprio apra agradas o grande público. Acheu que as duas horas cansaram um pouco, mas ainda assi um filme digno.
The movie "Fly Me To The Moon" stands out mainly for the captivating performances of the lead pair, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, who take on the role of guiding the plot, while the narrative suffers from shortcomings in the script by Rose Gilroy and the direction by Greg Berlanti.Berlanti tried to promote the film as a romantic comedy, while Sony chose to present it in the trailers as a conspiracy thriller, resulting in a scattered approach that affects the film's coherence. Although the moments exploring conspiracy theories and the moon landing arouse interest, the pace is often interrupted to force subplots and the romance between the protagonists, damaging the fluidity of the **** film's qualities are mainly attributed to Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, who elevate the humor and make the production more engaging than it would be without their performances. Despite being an enjoyable comedy, its excessive emphasis on romance, with little hint of the conspiracy theory surrounding the moon landing, 'Fly Me To The Moon' could be much better if it had a concrete definition of what it wanted to be. The movie relies heavily on the ability of its protagonists to attract audiences.