Fly Me To The Moon (Not The Song, But The Movie) - A Review
The best way to fall in love is faking the moon landing.ππ π ππ
I sneered at the trailer for this film.Β
I thoughtΒ Fly Me To The MoonΒ movie would be another ridiculous romance between two hot white people and would annoy me right out of the movie house. I did not have good feelings, but when the Alamo Drafthouse offered a sneak peek, I dusted myself off, walked inside, and was treated to some moon-based pleasure. I think that sums up a lot of what this movie is. It's about the pleasure of working with people doing something that's never been done before - sending astronauts to the moon.Β So there is a little bit of romance in this movie, but most of it is watching two people who are great at what they do, struggle to work together.
Channing Tatum plays Cole. He's the launch director, his job is to fulfill John F. Kennedy's promise of sending a "man to the moon" by the end of the 1960s. Unfortunately, Kennedy died in 1963 and NASA is completely underfunded due to Kennedyβs death and the members of the Apollo 1 mission going... up in smoke (can't believe I said that) in a cabin fire in 1967. As a launch director of that mission, this was the worst thing Cole experienced even after flying 52... or was it 64 missions in Korea?
Scarlett Johansson plays Kelly, a marketing magician who's given a job by an obvious CIA agent Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to move to Florida and bring back the excitement of traveling to the moon. It may be the 60's but Kelly will do anything to get a sale. She's like Don Draper in a dress. Kelly and her assistant (Anna Garcia) roll into the offices of VIMs (Very Important Men), endure the sexism of the day, and prove they know more than the VIMs do using a lot of talk about their wives to convince them to "give them the contract." At least that's what they used to do until Woody Harrelson blows up their spot on their newest contract. Scarlett Johansson may not want to work for the government, but once she's made an offer she can't refuse, she and her assistant take the job and move to Cocoa Beach, Florida.Β
Since many character names in this film end up being fake, I'll use the actor names instead.Β
Cocoa Beach is a party town. Scarlett's assistant made all the bookings and picked a hotel where people party hard every night. Rather than deal with the noise, Kelly finds Wolfie's Restaurant and goes there to study up on NASA. That's where she runs into Channing Tatum for the first time. There is a little chemistry there. You can feel it. That's when Scarlett accidentally sets her papers on fire.Β
Channing tries to tell her, but she blows him off. Scarlett finally notices the fire and throws her alcoholic beverage on itβbad move. While more of the table is burning Channing puts the fire with his cool pilot's jacket. He says he has too much going on being a launch director planning a trip to the moon launch and tries to leave. However, he just can't do it until he runs back inside and tells Scarlett Johansson how beautiful he thinks she is (as if we didnβt know). Naturally, she shows up the next day at NASA and begins to shake up everything Channing's been doing there. That's when I knew this movie was going to be fun.Β Itβs way more workplace comedy than a romance film.
Whatβs So Fun About Flying To The Moon?
When I was but a wee lad, we had to do one of those book reports on an important person. This happens often on the TV showΒ Bob's Burgers,Β andΒ Fly Me To The MoonΒ helped me remember when I had a similar project. The important historical person I picked was astronaut Neil Armstrong. Young Michael thought space was so cool. It was the final frontier after all. The 80s was all about science fiction films and TV shows. All three of the original Star Wars movies had come out and were being rerun all the time. We all thought aliens were real and most of us wanted to go to space and meet them. Who better to know if this was possible than the first man to walk on the moon?Β
For the report, I came to school dressed in a silver tracksuit. I put aluminum foil on a closed-face motorcycle helmet and added an American Flag sticker on the tracksuit to display my Americanness. I walked around my elementary school all day waiting for my chance to give my report to the class up on the stage in the cafeteria. I wanted to make everyone feel as if I was Neil Armstrong talking to them. It was awesome and I got an A+ for my efforts. It kept me and my mom up all night to make happen, but we did it! Thanks, Mama.Β
Should I Go See Fly Me To The Moon?
Absolutely!
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