FLY ME TO THE MOON

America is losing the space race. Tests are going badly, funding is being pulled, and Russia are edging closer and closer to the moon.

Richard Nixon has not lost faith however, and his newly formed government - in the form of Woody Harrelson’s Moe Berkus (not his real name) - enlist Scarlett Johanssons slick marketing expert Kelly Jones (not her real name) to give them the edge they need.

On arrival she immediately butts heads with Channing Tatums Apollo 11 flight director Cole Davis (this time it his real name), someone who wants to focus solely on his work, and not have his people distracted by there PR machine. 

After seeing the trailer I was a little concerned that this was going to play into the hands of conspiracy theorists, but instead it does the opposite. Gently taking aim and poking fun at some of the more ludicrous speculation and showing how impossible such a stunt would be.

It is in fact staunchly pro NASA, putting a spotlight not just on Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins, but on those around them. The engineers, scientists and directors who made it possible. 

Johansson and Tatum have excellent chemistry. Fly Me to the Moon is a rom-com at heart, and any rom-com can only go as far as its leads, and both here are great. Their burgeoning relationship always feels real, and manages to ground the film when it takes one of its occasional flights of fancy.

Channing Tatum is surprisingly convincing as an astronaut turned NASA director. The screenwriters do the right thing by not giving him too much technical jargon to spout, but what he does have to say feels authentic, but where his performance really flourishes is in the weight he carries from his previous missions.

Namely the tragic, fatal, failure of Apollo 1.

I completely believed every word he spoke about this. The regret, the guilt, the anger. And the fear that history could repeat itself. 

He is not the only one with demons in his past though, but where he faces his silently, yet directly, Kelly appears to be running from hers. Building life upon life to get ahead, but so that she never has to look back.

Her backstory does get significantly less screen time than Cole’s but when she does get a chance to delve into it Johansson ensures it is no less impactful.

There is a great supporting cast here. Anna Garcia as Kelly’s anti-Nixon assistant Ruby is great value as someone willing to bite back to her boss. Ray Romano as engineer Henry gives, as he often does, a lot of heart to the role.

But it is Jim Rash, as egocentric director Lance Vespertine - one part diva, one part genius - who steals the show. He injects energy and laughs into every scene he is in and can always be relied on to pull the film out of trouble when it occasionally gets stuck in the reeds. 

And it does occasionally get stuck in the reeds.

There is an awful lot happening here, and it can get a little bogged down in trying to tie up the loose threads it has left.

This is, as I said, ostensibly a rom-com. But as well has having Kelly and Cole’s relationship, and the histories they are both bringing to it, they are also dealing with the space race. With the technical issues the ship is facing, and the financial issues the could lead to the programmes collapse. 

We have the filming of a fake landing - just in case - the backdrop of Vietnam and the Nixon Administration, and the commentary on capitalism.

Not to mention that sodding cat.

And so, with so much to juggle, it can get itself a bit muddled. A bit lost within its own complexities. 

Overall though, Fly Me to the Moon is a surprisingly sweet, often fun, and occasionally very funny throwback to rom-coms of old, helped along the way by some excellent and committed performances. 

It reaches for the moon and while it doesn’t quite end up among the stars, it doesn’t come crashing back down to earth either.