Kelly and Cole’s reunion at a neon-drenched Cocoa Beach diner is cute, but when they realize they’re stuck working together, sparks don’t fly. They should do this, but we cannot see them. Cole is all about the mission, burdened by a past tragedy that haunts him, while Kelly is just here to work some shiny PR magic. Tatum’s earnest performance can’t lift the written role off the ground. And it looks like Johansson is having a lot of time playing a corporate lady. She is dancing to a different tune than him and we wonder how the makers missed that. Director Greg Berlanti may be counting on good-looking leads to carry the film to romantic heights, but alas, there are no sparks between Johansson and Tatum. Johansson shines as Kelly, a late-’60s advertising executive who is as smart as she is stunning, effortlessly transforming herself into different personas to win deals for her clients. Of course, for the good of the country, watching him fake his accent and brush his teeth is one of the joys of the film.
As previously stated, Kelly’s mission involves a secret plan to fake a landing on the Moon with a secret crew. How he and his co-conspirators go about it on the same campus where the real thing is getting ready to begin is the most interesting part of the film. Using his wit and charm to his fullest, he manages to fool everyone and avoid getting caught, turning the audience into co-conspirators in the process. We want them to succeed because we are secretly convinced that the actual landing did not happen. There are plenty of Kubrick jokes – apparently an afterthought that Stanley Kubrick was hired to make a fake moon landing film – Jim Rash is a riot as a flamboyant director who unleashes his inner artistry on this secret project. while Ray Romano and Ana Garcia deliver comedic gems that add extra sparkle.
Rejoice, all you conspiracy theorists, because this is a movie that brings the fake moon landing theory out of the closet. The problem is that director Berlanti has forgotten what he’s making. So like a satellite out of orbit, the film manages to avoid becoming a laugh-a-minute comedy, an intense docu-drama, a nostalgia trip or a satirical parody. Just when we think this is a proper romantic comedy involving two unlikely individuals, the tone changes towards heavy-handed drama, with both actors sharing sad things about their past, and later in the film , we see biting political satire. It’s a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs but thankfully remains enjoyable for the most part.
Fly Me to the Moon features a magnetic performance from Johansson that might have earned her an Oscar. It’s a wild ride with plenty of laughs and the climax is pure gold for conspiracy buffs.