Fly Me to the Moon

I'm usually not into romantic comedies because of their predictability and banal screenplays, however after viewing "Fly Me to the Moon", it put a little more faith in my opinion of the genre. If I had to akin this film with another, that would have to be 1977's "Capricorn One" whereas this film was simply a lighter, more comical version of the drama that "Capricorn One" brought us. 

This is a sharp, stylish romantic comedy set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA's historic Apollo 11 moon landing on July 16, 1969. Brought in to fix NASA's public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) hired by government official, Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis's (Channing Tatum) already a difficult task. He is in charge of getting that moon rocket off the ground and sent to the moon and back safely, and with one issue after another, he feels like he doesn't need yet another person to deal with. So, when the White House deems the mission too important to potentially fail, the countdown truly begins...

Others to round out the cast are Ray Romano as Henry Smalls, Jim Rash as director Lance Vespertine, Anna Garcia as Ruby Martin, Donald Elise Watkins as Stu Bryce, Noah Robbins as Don Harper, Christian Clemenson as Walter, Colin Woodell as Buzz Aldrin, Nick Dillenburg as Neil Armstrong, Christian Zuber as Michael Collins and Joe Chrest as Senator Vanning. 

This was hilariously directed by Greg Berlanti ("The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy" 2000, "Life as We Know It" '10, "Love, Simon" '18) plus TV. This film was certainly within this director's wheelhouse, however, this definitely was a bit more involved than the normal romcom, so that was encouraging. His ability to be able to intertwine his actors within the story was surely effective and entertaining. It was duly well written by newcomer Rose Gilroy. Even though there was a bit of choppiness within the script so the continuity was slightly off, it certainly wasn't enough to throw the story off. I have to admit, with the running time spanning two and a quarter hours, it definitely moved right along and kept my attention throughout. This premise obviously didn't happen, but it does make for great fodder to work from when it comes to this film with the idea of "What if...? The chemistry worked between Johansson and Tatum as was the Harrelson's portrayal of the sleazy government official. 

This is a great summer romp--something that one expects to see as funny summer fare. It definitely is worth the price of admission to the multiplex. Lots of great funny lines and quirky, over-the-top characters. Have fun with this. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                   Rated: PG-13                                   132mins.