Film Number 21 of 2024
The Movie: Fly Me to the Moon
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Stars: 4
This is the perfect Friday night film fodder. Light. Fluffy. Fun. And steeped in a history that many of us will be able to either remember or know about and you may have been rapt with as a child. The moon landing, and what went on behind the scenes. Oh, and it has Channing Tatum in it as well.
What's not to like?
The essence of this film is really a big shaggy dog story.
Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), a New York advertising queen is drafted (well, blackmailed, or press ganged - depending how you want to see it) into working for NASA by the shady, odious Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), an operative with one of the big intelligence agencies.
This is set during the 1960s Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Kelly's role is to fix NASA's public image and stage a "back-up" fake Moon landing.
With her trusty sidekick Ruby (Anna Garcia) Kelly starts working for the government agency, she's met with a lot of backlash. But Kelly is a consummate professional. And a bit of a grifter at heart. And very, very crafty. You see this from the first scenes in the film.
On the other hand, Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) is the Director of Apollo 11. Having worked at NASA for years, he's got some issues, especially after the disaster of the Apollo 1 mission. He works in a bloke's world with his old mate Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) and a lot of engineers. He's no nonsense and dedicated and knows he's pushing crap up a very steep hill to get this project in the air.
And of course, he doesn't want Kelly spinning his project. No, not at all.
And of course, the attraction between the two of them is palpable.
There is a lot to like about this film. Yes, it's rather light and fluffy, but in a good way. It's always good to see a film that has next to no sex and swearing, though the odd thing does blow up.
They've got the period down pat. This is the late sixties. There's the aftermath of Korea, the Vietnam War going on in the background. Richard Nixon is president. And America was still the aspirational place we wish it was now.
Greg Berlanti's direction is sound, keeping the action going and the humour visible. The movie was also paced well, with its crescendo coming quickly as the rocket takes off. I was rather taken with the nerdy engineers and the boy's club sentiments which must have made women's lives hell at the time.
The costumes and the soundtrack are right on point too. I'm sure they got in a job lot of short-sleeved, polyester men's shirts and skinny ties.
Maybe this delighted me as all things NASA and space have fascinated me from early childhood. Maybe it's just me craving simpler times.
But as a Friday Night movie, this ticked all the boxes. It's a film you can take your parents to, and you'll know they'll love it.
And sure, there might be a bit of gawping at Channing Tatum's chest or Scarlett Johansson's bum, but isn't that what movies are about? Oh, and there's a black cat in the film, ergo, it has to be good.
Maybe save this one for the streaming services, but I'm really glad I saw it. It's fun, entertaining and pretty to look at.
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