It Doesn’t Take a Conspiracy to Figure Out What Makes ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Tick

July 10, 2024

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To the moon, Scarlett! (CREDIT: Dan McFadden/Columbia Pictures)

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jim Rash, Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Anna Garcia, Donald Elise Watkins, Noah Robbins, Colin Wooddell, Christian Zuber, Nick Dillenburg, Joe Chrest, Art Newkirk, Ashley Kings, Jonathan Orea Lopez, Eva Pilar, Chad Crowe, Will Jacobs, Melissa Litow, Lauren Revard, Jesse Mueller

Director: Greg Berlanti

Running Time: 132 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Some Language and a Few Cigarettes

Release Date: July 12, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: To quote a certain iconic fictional extraterrestrial family, “Astronauts to the moon? Ha ha ha ha.” A lot of Americans felt the same way in the buildup to the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. In the years since John F. Kennedy’s promise of a manned lunar landing, the team at NASA is just as enthusiastic as ever about blasting off into space, if a little frustrated over a series of setbacks. But the general public is much more restless, so shady government figure Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) hires advertising genius Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) to fix the agency’s public image. She butts heads with the resolutely unflashy Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who insists that the work should stand for itself. But that’s far from the biggest challenge, as Kelly is also tasked with shooting a fake moon landing as a backup in case they can’t get any usable footage from the real version.

What Made an Impression?: Don’t Worry!: Going into Fly Me to the Moon, I was more than a little concerned that this trifle of alterna-history was going to guilelessly perpetuate one of the most persistent conspiracy theories in American history. It looked clear enough to me that it wasn’t actually claiming that the moon landing was faked, but why play with fire? Fortunately, it ultimately pulls off the screwy trick of confirming that the landing was real while demonstrating how it could have been faked. I don’t expect the most resolutely conspiratorial among us to have their minds changed, but the message is nonetheless clear and on the side of the verified historical record.
Falling Madly in Love?: But what does it matter what’s even happening on the moon if we’re not falling in love back on Earth? Director Greg Berlanti and screenwriter Rose Gilroy certainly see things this way, as Fly Me to the Moon is really a throwback screwball workplace rom-com at heart. Weirdly enough, though, the main love story takes a lot of its cues from the decidedly un-screwball Mad Men, with Kelly serving as a distaff spin on Don Draper, right down to the invented identity backstory. The constant deception makes her romance with Cole much more agonizing than is typically advisable, although this whole routine is old hat for Johansson and Tatum at this point. However, I found myself more invested in the chemistry bubbling underneath the surface between Kelly’s second-in-command, defiantly feminist Ruby (Anna Garcia), and young and awkward NASA engineer Don (Noah Robbins, probably best known as Zach from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Overall, it adds up to a somewhat overlong, mostly pleasant diversion that also features bang-up supporting turns by a harried Jim Rash and a thoughtful Ray Romano.

Fly Me to the Moon is Recommended If You Like: Skinny ties, De-emphasizing Channing Tatum’s handsomeness, Playing the hits of the 60s

Grade: 3 out of 5 Rocket Cameras

‘Emergency’ Has an Attention-Grabbing Premise and Compelling Execution

May 18, 2022

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Emergency (CREDIT: Quantrell Colbert/© 2021 Amazon Content Services LLC)

Starring: Donald Elise Watkins, RJ Cyler, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter, Maddie Nichols, Madison Thompson, Diego Abraham, Summer Madison, Gillian Rabin

Director: Carey Williams

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: R for College Partying Gone Way Wrong

Release Date: May 20, 2022 (Theaters)/May 27, 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)

Is it an emergency if you don’t see the 2022 film Emergency as soon as possible? Its title certainly sounds urgent, and I’m sure you don’t want to find out that somebody died because you, Very Specific Theoretical Audience Member, didn’t watch one particular movie when you very easily could have. Now before I go any further, let me be clear that I’m being HYPERBOLIC. I don’t want anyone to get it twisted! Let me also be clear that you don’t have to see any movie that you don’t want to see, no matter how much everyone else is talking about it. But even after all that preamble, I’ll confidently declare that you may still want to check out Emergency, as it offers a fascinating premise that leads into horrifying, hilarious, and thought-provoking directions.

Sean (RJ Cyler) and Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) are two best buds and college roommates who just want to spend their Friday night making their way through a mythical rotation of campus parties. Well, that’s all Sean wants to do. Kunle’s on board, too, but he’s also worried about his bacteria cultures for a lab project, especially since a botched assignment could run afoul of his looming transition into grad school. But all  of that is waylaid when they discover a random semi-conscious girl (Maddie Nichols) on the floor of their apartment. Their other roommate Carlos (Sebastian Chacon) has no idea how she got there, and they immediately become concerned about the optics of three black and brown dudes hovering over a drunk white girl.

So instead of calling 911, the boys attempt to drive her to the hospital, which isn’t exactly a more prudent decision, as it leads to a series of increasingly dangerous misunderstandings. Getting the girl in an ambulance almost certainly would have been much better for everyone involved, but it’s not hard to understand their trepidation. It’s always tricky to make a movie like this one that taps into people of color’s deep-seated mistrust of authority, as it will unavoidably awaken raw emotions. So I won’t be surprised if Emergency is an automatic turn-off for some viewers. Nevertheless, I appreciate its uniquely thoughtful, grounded approach. At its core, this is a story of college kids who let a situation get out of hand, as so often happens in a college setting. The weightier threats linger because that’s just what a significant part of this country is like.

Emergency is Recommended If You Like: Maximum Tonal Discomfort

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Busted Taillights