I am not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t believe in UFOs, I don’t believe that Elvis faked his death, and I don’t believe the moon landing was faked. Fly Me to the Moon mines one of those for its entertainment potential. It is a romantic comedy that mostly remains earthbound but does have some good dialogue, funny moments, and likeable characters.
The plot of this film conjures up an explanation for why some people think the U.S. landing on the moon was faked, and they use it as background for a fun romance. Scarlett Johansson plays Kelly Jones, an advertising powerhouse in New York City who is recruited by a shady government official (played by Woody Harrelson) to renew the public’s interest in NASA so that the upcoming moon mission will be a success. We have to beat the Russians, after all. Kelly meets launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in this new job. Attraction, antagonism, and then romantic sparks follow in short order between them. Then, things get complicated when the government orders Kelly to produce a top-secret alternate moon landing in case the real one goes wrong.
Fly Me to the Moon does not break new ground or revolutionize a genre. But it is a good time on many levels, mostly because it has a good handle on how to sell a romance and the cast is appealing.
“Commit to achieving the impossible.”
Kelly is exceptional at her job. We see that in the way she lands a car account in an early scene. There is an element of acting to her selling ability as well, like pretending to be pregnant with a fake belly. Cole is also good at what he does, but he is struggling. Congress’ funding for NASA is low, they are understaffed, and Cole is still reeling from the Apollo 7 disaster a couple of years earlier. When Harrelson’s Moe Berkus offers Kelly the job, he also states events in her past will be wiped away when she accomplishes her task. We don’t know what those events are yet. But we do know that the stakes for the moon landing are high for everyone.
The interaction between Cole and Kelly is effective from the start. They meet in a bar shortly after she arrives in Florida. She hasn’t even seen the launch site yet. Cole immediately stares at her, and she’s distracted enough by him that her book catches on fire. When he helps her put out the flames, she offers to buy him a drink as a thank you. He awkwardly declines. We definitely saw a spark between them, so we’re not surprised when Cole goes back in. He tells her she’s the most beautiful woman he ever saw but he can’t be focused on romance right now. A lot depends on the first meeting for a fictional couple, and this is a good one.
“When we succeed, we do it together.”
Things get antagonistic between Kelly and Cole, though, when she shows up to start her job. Cole doesn’t like the selling aspect of her work. She has the astronauts wearing Omega watches in ads, and she pulls out Southern accents to schmooze Senators to vote for NASA funding. He doesn’t like the dishonesty of it. They do get closer despite this, though Kelly must keep the fake moon landing a secret from him. Obviously, the truth must be revealed. Kelly must talk about her past, and Cole must reckon with his emotions about Apollo 7, too. The drama of all of that still leaves room for comedy, believe it or not. Johansson and Tatum have experience with a more overt tone of comedy, having costarred in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! But they make you care about Kelly and Cole.
The writing does its part to make their interaction engaging, too. There is a nice rhythm to their exchanges that feels a bit like screwball comedies of the 1930s to me. That’s a bit unexpected for a film set in the ’60s. But I like it. As for the fake moon landing thing, when the team makes sure that the real astronauts are being broadcast around the world, you can’t help but cheer a little. The show of respect for the space program is nice. That’s what the whole viewing experience of Fly Me to the Moon is like. It’s a harmless, mostly sweet, romance that I wouldn’t mind watching again.
3 1/2 stars out of 5
Fly Me to the Moon is now playing in theaters.
