In a great step away from her tenure as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson starred in and produced a well-executed Space Race romantic dramedy, 'Fly Me to the Moon. I enjoyed her getting a chance to be the funny one, alongside a dedicated NASA employee played by Channing Tatum. The beautiful, breathtaking story along with jazzy scoring by Daniel Pemberton, swinging pop and soul songs, and clashing romantic times between Johansson and Tatum's characters were the highlights that made 'Fly Me to the Moon' a dazzling spectacle.
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| Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones and Channing Tatum as Cole Davis in 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. |
In a retelling of the Apollo 11 mission, marketing expert Kelly Jones, played by Johansson, and mission director Cole Davis, played by Tatum, had their own ideas for how the story should be told to the American public. Jones saw it as a chance to make Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins look great on commercials for items such as watches or Tang, and help people trust government spending on space missions while recovering from earlier tragedies such as the disastrous Apollo 1 mission, the Vietnam War, or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's assassination. On the other hand, Davis focused more on the rocket launch than the program and astronauts being publicity stunts.
I enjoyed the movie. Once Johansson's character of Jones appeared, I was amused by her marketing savvy and how she outsmarted some snobby businessmen at an automobile business. Though I picked up some 'Hidden Figures' vibe when she started off in the pits at NASA (a dusty, not-so-homey office), she went back to Johansson's Black Widow by sneaking in and charming the employees- to help her get NASA some better PR and funding. Tatum's character was funny, as well, when he tried to dissuade Johansson from entering a center at NASA by saying anything could fry or poison her, but Johansson was undeterred. Sometimes, Davis dressed like Captain Kirk from 'Star Trek.'
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| Channing Tatum and Ray Romano in 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. |
Other funny actors came courtesy of Jim Rash and Ray Romano. Rash played a brash film director who resembled Steve Carell and Stanley Tucci, and he tried too hard to imitate the Moon landing as a failsafe in case the rocket didn't make it again. Romano played Tatum's coworker who provided some comic relief at the workplace, like Romano was bringing back his prior character of Ray Barone. I noticed one person of color in the cast, Donald Elise Watkins as engineer Stu Brice, and I enjoyed seeing his excitement as the film proceeded. And though he was not funny to me, Woody Harrelson as Jones' employer Moe Berkus seemed like a cross between a paranoid government agent and a slick car salesman.
The film's songs were sung by artists such as Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Bee Gees, and Eddie Floyd among others. Their sounds provided soothing and/or danceable music during the laborious times of the Space Race. As I said in my Bikeriders blog, you got to enjoy the costumes of the 60s. Johansson's character reminded me of the original comic book appearances of Karen Page from 'Daredevil.' from the hairstyle, at least.
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| Cole Davis, played by Channing Tatum, in front of a memorial of the Apollo 1 astronauts in 'Fly Me to the Moon'. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. |
As faith in NASA began to be restored, Johansson and Tatum's characters (predictably) fell in love. Their romance reminded me of Clark Kent and Lois Lane from 'Smallville'; they started as bickering and clashing, then got closer.
Besides the cast, humor, and music, I enjoyed the Apollo 11 liftoff and discussions of the beauty of space from the characters. Ultimately, 'Fly Me to the Moon' was a beautiful, dazzling, sentimental movie. If you want to see a film this summer that's not a sequel, reboot, or remake, you should watch 'Fly Me to the Moon'. starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.
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