by Jeremy Kazieva,
Are you a fan of space? How about NASA or astronauts? Set in the 1960s, Fly Me to the Moon is not your typical rom-com. Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is a top marketing specialist hired by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to assist Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), a launch director, in promoting the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. This dynamic duo takes us on a hectic, romantic, and stressful journey as they attempt to create a fake film depicting the first moon landing. As the mission date approaches, the task becomes too important to fail. Kelly is given an assignment that complicates her relationship with Cole and NASA, putting her job at risk.
The movie blends humor, seriousness, and history, all while being set in the 60s, giving it an interesting look. The casting is spot on, with Scarlett Johansson as the marketing specialist, Channing Tatum as the launch director, and Woody Harrelson as Kelly’s boss. However, perfect casting doesn’t necessarily make a perfect film. While watching, I noticed a few things I liked and didn’t like. For instance, the film being a rom-com with a story about the first moon landing felt off to me. If there were a movie with this kind of historical significance, I’d prefer it to be more like Oppenheimer, a documentary-style film. The romance seemed to interfere with the actual story. Another issue was the film’s duration. At 2 hours and 12 minutes, it felt too long. Some scenes dragged, and others felt cut short. I believe a rom-com should be around 1 hour 30-45 minutes, but given the scope of this story, the extended length made some sense, though it still felt longer than necessary.
Now, onto the positive aspects of the movie. The backstory and explanation of the plot were well done, setting the stage for what we were about to watch. The 60s setting was appealing, similar to Bikeriders, but in a different context. The supporting cast, including Jim Rash, Ray Romano, and Anna Garcia, were funny and shone brightly when the focus was on them. The editing was good, the music had a nice old-school vibe, and the cinematography was impressive, though it would look even better in IMAX or Dolby Cinema given the space theme.
Overall, the movie felt longer than it should have due to some dragging scenes, making the pace seem too slow. However, the story was interesting, the cast was great, and the music, setting, and dialogue were excellent. My main issues were the duration and the genre. The film started and ended well, but I wish the middle portions were better integrated.