Fly Me To The Moon Is Worth The Trip To The Theater

I’m a big fan of Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, so of course I had to catch Fly Me to the Moon for my discount Tuesday movie. The film is centered around the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, when the American people were losing interest in space exploration.

NASA was preparing for its next mission, and funding was being cut off. The film reminds us that we have the Vietnam War and Civil Rights issues in the background taking up much more of the public’s attention. Forgotten is the promise of an earlier president, John F. Kennedy, that we would land on the moon. 

As Fly Me to the Moon opens, we meet Cole Davis (Tatum), the launch director at NASA in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and his deputy, Henry Smalls (Ray Romano), as Cole chases a black cat off the premises in a comical scene that focuses on the superstitions of scientists and engineers with heightened concerns over everything going right, for good reason.

Cut to a scene in a Manhattan high-rise, and we meet Kelly Jones (Johansson), a gorgeous, savvy adwoman selling the Ford Mustang with seat belts to a board room full of men. She lands her pitch, and her assistant, Ruby (Anna Garcia), marvels over Kelly’s ability to sell anything to anyone. 

Fly Me to the Moon is then moved forward by a powerful and mysterious government agent, Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), maneuvering Kelly down to Cape Canaveral to sell the moon landing to the American people. (He reveals to Kelly that he has dirt on her from her past in order to motivate her.)

The film really takes off as the eternally positive, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer Kelly encounters the oh-so-serious Cole Davis and the two butt heads. Kelly is determined to do her job, presenting NASA and the Apollo 11 mission as a product to be sold through the likes of Tang, Omega Watch, and even Fruit of the Loom ads, and Cole does not believe NASA should have to be marketed. 

Of course, the two end up flirting and finding their way to each other as Fly Me to the Moon unfolds, but their love affair is interrupted when Moe arrives yet again to insist Kelly stage a fake moon landing just in case the real one doesn’t pan out.

Lest we forget, Russia is also in a race to the moon, and we can’t let those “Commies” beat us there. Kelly must keep her film production a secret from Cole, and as the date of the actual launch approaches, things get tense. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out how the events all come together. 

What is great about Fly Me to the Moon is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is, I think, what the critics who don’t love it are complaining about. They’d love to see this film act more reverently toward the material. At the same time, audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Google have given it more than 90 percent positive reviews. The difference, I think, lies in the ability of an audience to just go into a movie theater and suspend disbelief. Just have fun!

I will say I don’t love Tatum as a serious actor. His greatest moments are when he’s playing slick, silly, or both, and he gets the chance to do neither in Fly Me to the Moon. He’s like a restrained golden retriever. Not good. Still, Scarlett Johansson is fabulous here, and I only wish she’d been given a love interest with whom she could have had more chemistry. (Is it wrong that I want to slide Henry Cavill into every role?)

I urge you to go get your butt in the seat in your local theater to watch it. Don’t forget your popcorn.