Sony / Apple
The highly-anticipated romantic comedy, “Fly Me To The Moon,” starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson opened at Coronado’s Vintage Village Theater, July 12. Johansson delivers an outstanding performance as Kelly Jones, an advertising exec hired by Moe Berkus (Harrelson) to help NASA win back American support for the space program. Johansson’s quick wit and charm will steal the hearts of the audience, while capturing the eye of NASA Flight Director Cole Davis (Tatum). The movie’s plot is centered around NASA’s Apollo 11 moon-landing mission, in which Johansson and Tatum have two very different roles with the same objective, to win the space-race with a successful moon landing that has the full support of the American people.
Filled with original footage from the 1960s, “Fly Me To the Moon” brings the audience back to a time when the impossible became possible and dreams became reality. The movie does a nice job of setting the scene starting with Kennedy’s announcement that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, then incorporating the struggles with meeting that objective. From the tragic failures of earlier Apollo missions to the impact the Vietnam War was having on the American public, the need to win back the support of the American people, and the funding from Congress was critical. While most movies about Apollo 11 focus on the engineering feels, the astronauts and mission control, “Fly Me To the Moon” centers on the important role marketing/PR can play to the success of the mission.
The performances by Johansson and Harrelson stole the show and made this movie well worth the trip to the theater. While I believe they could have done a better job casting Cole Davis’s character, Tatum did a good job of portraying the strait-laced and stoic flight director; unfortunately his chemistry with Johansson was lacking. This movie will remind audiences of all the big emotions surrounding the moon landing while keeping them laughing along the way. If you are looking for a way to beat the heat this summer, the smart and funny banter in “Fly Me To The Moon” will provide a good escape.
Movie Times: Click Here
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Director: Greg Berlanti
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson
Run Time: 2h 12m
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, smoking
