Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon) directs this rom-com set during the 1960s Space Race between the U.S. and Russia. Marketing expert Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is hired to stage and film a fake moon landing in case the real Apollo 11 landing fails, much to the chagrin of NASA’s launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who’s in charge of overseeing the real landing. (132 min.)
Glen: I grew up in the late ’60s and ’70s, so I vividly remember the Space Race. I also vividly remember the Vietnam War. These two pivotal, high-stakes events—one inspirational, the other tragic—as the story’s backdrop immediately elevate the emotional heft of this appealing romantic comedy. We meet Kelly in NYC, where she and her assistant, Ruby (Anna Garcia), are mistaken for steno pool secretaries when they walk into a meeting to pitch three auto execs on a new ad campaign. Kelly is used to being underestimated, and watching her manipulate this trio of knuckle draggers is pure joy. Johansson is at her most charming here, in full-on Marilyn Monroe bombshell mode. When she’s hired to enter the NASA boys club to “sell the moon,” these engineers and pilots don’t know what they’re in for.
Anna: Kelly is quite the saleswoman and doesn’t have any qualms about telling lies if it helps get her where she wants to be. Cole is much more rooted in his morals and doesn’t take lightly the enormity of the dangers that the Space Race presents. The two are bound for conflict and also for love, and I have to say that Johansson and Tatum have chemistry. They bounce off of each other with flirtatious ease but don’t fall into the trap of becoming a boring love story. Rich and delicious costuming and sets make Fly Me to the Moon a feast for the eyes, and quick, sharp dialogue and plenty of laughs make this film a pleasure to take in. Woody Harrelson plays Moe Berkus, a government agent working under Richard Nixon who hires Kelly to make America focus more on space and less on Vietnam. Kelly’s up to the task, and Moe seems to know she has plenty of secrets he can leverage to rope her in. We learn a little more about the mysterious Kelly as the film goes on, but the heart of the story lies in her and Cole’s budding relationship—and the potentially disastrous ending it may come to. This film’s a charmer, just good old-fashioned fun.
Glen: It definitely falls into the screwball comedy genre, meaning it’s pretty farfetched in places, but it’s all about the vibe and not striving for realism. Playing off “the moon landing was faked” conspiracy, shooting at the real Cape Canaveral, and mixing in archival footage adds to the nostalgia. My family visited NASA at Cape Canaveral when I was about 10, and I vividly remember the towering building. This film connected with me on so many levels. Loved it.
Anna: It reminded me of 2003’s Down With Love with its patented ’60s style and kooky con woman lead character. But while Kelly may lie to get her way, she still proves to be an endearing, clever woman. The film has fun blending fake history with real and building a larger-than-life tale around the moon landing. Johansson and Tatum are both downright charming. I loved it too!
New Times Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Sun Screen. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 18-28, 2024.
