Ivan Radford | On 12, Dec 2024

Director: Greg Berlanti
Cast: Channing Tatum, Scarlet Johansson, Woody Harrelson
Certificate: 12

Where were you on Sunday 20th July in 1969? Even those who weren’t alive then know exactly where Neil Armstrong was: setting foot on the moon. Documentaries and dramas alike have retold the astonishing events of that scientific achievement for decades since – but not many have focused on the conspiracy theory that the whole thing was faked. While also being a romantic comedy. And a government thriller. Fly Me to the Moon does all the above.

If that sounds like a lot for one movie, you’re not wrong. Rose Gilroy’s debut script is an ambitious skip from one genre to the next, spreading its light-hearted romp across more than two hours in an attempt to fit in every idea it has. We begin the year before the landing, as NASA is struggling to retain the public interest in the space race – and, as a result, faces the risk of not having the funding to pull it off. And so government agent Moe (Woody Harrelson) recruits ad whizz Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) from New York to rescue NASA’s public image. The only catch? Nobody has told launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), who doesn’t take kindly to an outsider meddling in a classified project.

Within hours, Kelly has lied to at least three politicians and recruited actors to play the parts of NASA staff members to make them more charismatic and attractive to the public. It turns out that her penchant for playing with the truth stems from her years of deceit when younger – because her advertising skills are rooted in being taught how to scam and grift by her mother. Moe, who initially promises her that he can clear her criminal record, then blackmails her into collaborating on a fake moon landing that can be shown on TV – as a backup in case the real mission fails, so that America doesn’t lose face.

The result is wonderfully implausible, but is fuelled by its stellar star leads. Scarlett Johansson is enjoyably shrewd and composed as the confident and calculating Kelly, while Channing Tatum is itching with entertainingly nervous energy as the buttoned-up, stiff-lipped Cole. Together, they conjure up a screwball chemistry that is at once amusing and endearing, whether that’s dealing with fires or juggling egos. As the odd couple inevitably thaw and sparks start to fly, they also sell the shift from bickering to something gentler, which is given a welcome dose of emotional heft by Tatum’s poignant presence, as Cole’s regret and guilt about previous mission fatalities bubbles up to the surface.

The result is somewhere between Down with Love and For All Mankind, a combination that’s as unlikely as it is charming. Director Greg Berlanti keeps the pace moving enough to stop things dragging, while Gilroy’s script is peppered with nicely observed period touches, such as the cereal adverts and other sponsorship deals that help make the moon landing matter to everyday Americans. It’s that affection that ultimately emerges as the heart of the whole endeavour, as the film manages to both toy with history and not undermine a genuinely miraculous feat. Which is a pretty impressive accomplishment in itself.

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