For those in the mood for a perfect romantic comedy, with smart dialogues and the perfect casting, Fly Me to the Moon is all of that! The background for the film is the Apollo Mission to the Moon and all the sixties fashions (with a nod to predecessor movie “Barbie,”) are at the center of it all.
We meet hunk Channing Tatum as launch director Cole Davis, who works hard to get the next Apollo Mission off the ground, and are introduced to a gorgeous bleach blonde marketing wiz Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) in her element, using every trick of the trade to sweet-talk a group of execs into selling sports cars to the ladies of the house.
Shady behind the scenes character Moe Berkus with a direct line to the President (yes, the White House) is played with panache by Woody Harrelson, Secret Service man extraordinaire – who holds all the strings of the action.
Harrelson first gets Johansson’s character found out by the reluctant car execs, only to enlist her to help him drum up the interest of the American entire nation for his boss’s favorite project: Nixon wants to make Kennedy’s dream reality: To put a man on the Moon! And, of course, to beat the Russians to the finish line!
First, in this story, the gal has to meet the guy. Tatum spots her sitting Monroe-style at a table and gazes love struck at the beautiful blonde, and gets to save her, all in a diner near their place of work, the Florida Apollo launch site Cape Canaveral. With NASA’s not so secret weapon, the fabulous Advertising lady from New York as their new Press Agent, who is willing to do almost everything to get NASA back into the limelight, the project cannot fail, then again, Moe wants to make very sure.
Kelly’s very first task, having a window installed to update her new office, shows her talent to push past every obstacle and enlist the men and adoring female assistant (Ruby Martin) around her to get the job done. There is another twist that will drive the story, Moe’s reason for keeping Johansson ever so close, he knows her secret and could make it go away, if she plays along. And so she does.
Since technology is pretty new and a quite volatile, America’s public trust has to be served and political funding depends on it. So Moe pushes for parallel realities, a moon landing on the earth to be broadcast, just in case the one on the moon runs into a snag. A zany film director (Jim Rash) and a black cat (and what a great actress she is!) play some leading and very funny roles. There is enough wit and just enough romance to keep us guessing and hoping – a very enjoyable catch! The Sinatra song will have you humming your way home.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Woody Harrelson
Directed and written by:
Genre: Romantic Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, and smoking
Running Time: 2 hrs. 12 min.
Opening Date: July 12, 2024
Distributed by: Sony Pictures
Released in: Theaters