Moon an unexpectedly delightful throwback
Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon uses the conspiracy theory about the faked moon landing as the background for, of all things, a romantic comedy. Seems a stretch but it actually works. Thanks to a script that weaves together factual information, more than a bit of conjecture and palpable chemistry between its two charismatic leads, this breezy concoction manages to balance hearty laughs with genuine poignancy.
The clock is ticking for the United States’ space program,
as the scientists and astronauts at NASA are intent on meeting President John F. Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. In
addition to the science working against them, they are in danger of losing
their funding. After the tragic Apollo 1
mission that resulted in the deaths of three astronauts, the organization’s
competence is questioned. Adding to their woes is changing public perception
regarding the urgency of sending men into outer space. What with so many social
problems plaguing the country, it’s becoming harder and harder justifying
spending billions on these modern Buck Rogers.
Desperate to change this, and in the process secure further
funding from Congress, government spook Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) hires
Madison Avenue ad exec Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) to turn the tide.
Brought to Cape Canaveral with her assistant Ruby (Anna Garcia) in tow, she
hits the ground running, proposing cross-promotional collaborations that will
rekindle interest in the program as well as make the astronauts celebrities
without peer.
All good ideas, yet she meets nothing but resistance from
Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), a former pilot and war hero who is currently the launch
director. Carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, as well as grief
over Apollo 1, he can’t be bothered with approving ad campaigns, gladhanding
politicians or falling in love. And yet, despite his resistance to all three,
he winds up doing each. However, things take a radical turn when Berkus tells
Jones is being put in charge of staging a fake version of the moon landing that
will be broadcast live if the actual mission goes sideways.
As with most rom-coms, there are more than a few
misunderstandings between the couple in question. However, there’s a bit more weight to what’s
plaguing Jones. Living by the notion that the end justifies the means, she has
no problem lying to get what she wants, justifying her actions as just part of
the advertising game. However, she takes things too far where her personal
history is concerned, her compulsive behavior ultimately revealed to be
trauma-based. Johansson does a wonderful job dispensing the charm, convincing
us Jones would be a force hard to resist. However, it’s during the
moments in which her character lets her guard down that she shines, reminding
us just how versatile she is.
Surprisingly, she and Tatum prove a compelling couple. His exasperation in the face of her
relentlessness generates constant comic tension, while he gets an opportunity
to show his dramatic chops as well. It’s no surprise Harrelson is the film’s
stealth weapon, stealing each scene he’s in with his sly approach, Cheshire cat
smile and perpetual gleam in his eye.
More than anything, Moon proves to be an effective
throwback to the kind of films we don’t see much anymore. There’s a sense of
innocence here reminiscent of the Rock Hudson-Doris Day features, a playfulness
between Johansson and Tatum that never allows things to get too heavy. And
while a steady diet of movies like this would get old quickly, this retro
exercise proves a welcome respite to the usual overblown Hollywood fare. In theaters.
West woefully consistent with Maxxxine
His latest, Maxxxine, the final chapter of a trilogy
that focuses on the pursuit of fame and its corrosive nature, didn’t change my
mind. Starting with X and continuing with Pearl, both 2022, the
movies are loosely tied together narratively, though the protagonists from each
go to great lengths to achieve validation by any means necessary.
The time is 1985, a volatile era in which the moral majority
raised their collective voices in protest over the sex and violence that had
crept into pop music, as well as the explosion of the porn industry, thanks to
the burgeoning home video market. This is of no concern to Maxine (Mia Goth),
and in fact, she’s prospered by it. The
biggest name in adult films, she’s looking to leave the smut industry behind,
hoping to break into mainstream movies. Improbably, she gets her chance when
she’s cast in the sequel to a cult horror film.
Unfortunately, Maxine’s good luck is short-lived. Two
co-workers of hers are found brutally slain, the police assuming they are the latest victims of the Night Stalker serial killer. And while our tarnished
heroine dismisses this as a coincidence, once her best friend is butchered as
well, she suddenly realizes these killings are, in fact, hitting too close to
home. What ensues is an investigation by two determined cops (Bobby Canavale
and Michele Monaghan), intensive stalking by a skeezy private eye (Kevin Bacon)
and a final reveal that is out of left field, but not in a good way.
If nothing else, you have to admire West’s consistency as he
stumbles into the same traps again and again. At just a bit over 100 minutes,
the film still feels long. Deliberate pacing as well as narrative repetition
hobble the story, the veteran cast the only thing keeping us engaged. Bacon is
having fun, knowing a broad, bad performance isn’t out of place in a meta
exercise such as this, while Giancarlo Esposito as Maxine’s agent seems to be
competing with him in seeing who can steal the most scenes. However, no amount
of dramatic enthusiasm or commitment can overcome the ridiculous third act West
saddles her and the audience with. In delivering the requisite shock ending,
the ultimate identity of the villain in question comes off as desperate rather
than clever.
Obviously, there’s a “been there, done that” quality to Maxxxine,
which I wouldn’t mind if it were done in service of something clever or
surprising. As it is, this comes off as a lazy, bloody mess that fails to solve
the mystery of West’s “brilliance” for me. In theaters.
Convert wastes epic potential
There’s an occasional sense of grandeur in Lee Tamahori’s The Convert, a would-be epic set in New Zealand during the early 19th century. Filmed on location, the lush, primitive aesthetic is perhaps the film’s strongest element, the director using it to transport us to not only an era in the past but to a society that withered over time. Unfortunately, the script by Michael Bennett, Shane Danielsen and Tamahori is a laborious, frustrating construct, one that toys with weighty ideals but comes up short in terms of context.
Lay preacher Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce) has come to the
British settlement of Epworth as a missionary. This is what he tells those he
encounters, but it’s obvious he’s running away from his past, his career as a
soldier one he wishes to put far behind him. However, fate has other plans for
him when he stumbles upon a skirmish between two warring Maori tribes.
Intervening, he barters for the life of Rangimai (Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne), a
fierce young woman who initially resents his intervention.
Their relationship is a tenuous one but turns when her father,
a local chieftain, decrees that Munro should teach her the ways of his culture.
Inexplicably, she does not resist this and comes to appreciate the finery of
modern society. But the murder of her bodyguard (Duane Evans Jr.) shatters her
perceptions and heightens the violence between the two tribes present in
Epworth.
While this premise hasn’t been completely exhausted and
continues to have merit, Tamahori and his co-writers fail to bring any vitality
to it. This situation is ripe with possibilities, but little is done to provide
background regarding why these two factions are at war, or a broader context as
to Maori culture or history. Anchoring the film with a foundation of this sort
would have increased the narrative stakes and likely made for a more engaging
story as well. What with the subject matter and grand setting, the makings of
an old-school epic are here. Unfortunately, the script is threadbare and
incomplete, the lack of opportunities for emotional engagement ultimately
making The Convert a bit of a slog. Available through
Video-On-Demand.
