FLY ME TO THE MOON (APPLE TV+) (2024)

SYNOPSIS: Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, FLY ME TO THE MOON is a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as back-up and the countdown truly begins…

MOVIE REVIEW:

We can’t believe a title liked Fly Me to the Moon went under the radar without much notice from the audiences and critics. I mean nobody actually talked about a romance comedy starring two of the hottest A-listers, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. Blame it on Netflix then because nowadays nobody gives a hoot about theatrical releases.

Talking about Netflix, Fly Me to the Moon was produced by Apple Original and released theatrically by Sony. Well, we must add that the latter never seems to be doing a good job marketing the title.

Anyway, Fly Me to the Moon has a brilliant narrative combining real-life historical events with fictional ones. Set in the 1960s, a highly-successful marketing executive from New York, Kelly (Johansson) is hired by a government covert agent, Moe (Woody Harrelson) to help market the NASA space program after the tragic incident of Apollo 1.

But first, Kelly needs to work with Cole Davis (Tatum), the by-the-book, former war pilot turned launch director for Apollo 11, the one where Neil Armstrong (Nick Dillenburg), Buzz Aldrin (Colin Woodell) and Michael Collins (Christian Zuber) went into space for the first landing on the moon. If that’s not enough, Kelly is also tasked by Moe to create a “fake” moon landing to be broadcast on television network in case the real astronauts fail to do so.

Fly Me to the Moon cleverly reminisces one from the good old days of Hollywood romcoms. A time where the late Nora Ephron, Garry Marshall and Nancy Meyers gave us classics liked When Harry Met Sally, What Woman Want and Pretty Woman. Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon) cleverly creates a totally implausible scenario despite the actual happening of Apollo 11.

The romance between the two leads are perfect without being too mushy or cringing at the very least. Johansson and Tatum has genuinely pretty good chemistry together. On hindsight, Tatum indeed works better than Chris Evans who was originally cast as the male lead.

Additionally, the story has more to offer than just a plain old rom-com. It’s set in a time where then President Nixon needs something to show the nation rather than answering for the failing Viet war. Davis on the other hand is still living with the pain of watching the men from Apollo 1 being burned alive in the failed mission. Kelly is also portrayed as a woman with a criminal past rather than a mere pretty high-flyer executive from Manhattan.

Veterans liked Harrelson, Ray Romano, Jim Rash and a recurring black cat provide extra winning points to the end result. Nepotism aside, the offspring of famed screenwriter Dan Gilroy and Rene Russo, Rose who contributes to the screenplay manages to churn up a rom-com that’s worth the time. A tale of love and clash of the genders set in NASA? Come on, it deserves all the attention it needs especially in a time where people keep complaining the lack of originality in Hollywood.

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee