The United States’ Apollo program was established in 1962, when President Kennedy announced that men would walk on the moon by 1970. At the time of that announcement, America was already engaged in what the media termed the Space Race. This had started five years previously, in 1957, when the Soviet Union had launched the world’s first unmanned space vehicle, Sputnik 1 and it became more intense in 1961 when Russia’s Yuri Gagarin, became the first human being in space.
America’s space travel efforts were managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and at the Apollo Project’s height, in 1969, approximately 400,000 people worked for them. The Soviet Union had beaten America twice and so becoming the first to land on the Moon was a very big deal to both super powers.
FLY ME TO THE MOON is set in 1968 when Project Apollo, the program created to land astronauts on the Moon, is in trouble in terms of funding and public enthusiasm. Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) works successfully as a Madison Avenue marketing specialist. Her career is thrown on a tangent when she is approached by a shadowy Secret Service operative Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson). He offers her a job at NASA marketing Project Apollo to the American public. When she and her assistant Ruby (Anna Garcia) arrive at Cape Kennedy (aka Canaveral) in Florida, they discover a place with a Spring Break vibe and a population of space fans.
As soon as she begins work at NASA, Kelly’s efforts collide with those of launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum). Cole is all about training the astronauts. Kelly must raise money and awareness in order to secure funding for the Project. The funding that NASA has been promised is in constant danger of being pulled by politicians. Kelly and Cole’s paths cross often and usually they are at cross-purposes. More than once, when Cole needs the astronauts, they are engaged in being photographed for magazine stories or advertising spreads. He doesn’t appreciate his mission being interfered with by this interloper who doesn’t understand the true importance of going to the Moon.
At its heart, FLY ME TO THE MOON is a romantic-dramedy, but it mixes some unusual elements and other genres to get there. Any movie referencing the 1960s era of the American space program, made after THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) tends to be influenced by that film and this movie is no exception. There are also threads of APOLLO 13 (1995), FIRST MAN (2018) and perhaps more surprisingly, those Doris Day and Rock Hudson rom-coms like LOVER COME BACK (1961). This movie wants to both pay tribute to the amazing endeavour that the American space program was, as well as sell the notion of ’sixties cool to a 2024 audience. AND for extra points, it also attempts to reference the horror of the Vietnam War and also give a sly nod to the conspiracy theories that the Moon landings never happened and were in fact, staged.
This strand of the story where Kelly is encouraged by Moe Berkus to film a faked “back-up version of the landing” feels like a weird direction for this tale to take. (Don’t come at us about spoilers – it’s in the official trailer.) There’s a lot going on in the story already and this section never happened. Not even a little bit.
This whole mixed bag is overseen by Greg Berlanti who has directed several well-regarded features, but is better known for his writing and producing work on U.S. television shows such as Dawson’s Creek, Everwood and The Flash. The project was originally conceived as a series for Apple TV but it eventually shifted gear into a theatrically-released feature film. Possibly the ground this story is intended to cover, might have worked better as a streaming mini-series. The story is by Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn. The screenplay is by Rose Gilroy.
Tatum and Johansson do solid work as the leads. They tick all the boxes; looks, star charisma, ability to do comedy and drama. Woody Harrelson is fun as the menacing spy guy and Jim Rash is in top form as the errant and flamboyant director of the “backup”, Lance Vespertine. The performers are aided by excellent hair, wardrobe and production design. There are also some very slick graphics combining historical film with current day footage.
If you’re a fan of NASA in the 1960s and want an accurate portrayal of that era and its priorities, then this movie is not aimed at you. Ultimately, if you’re after a fun film where the potential lovers make their moves while Saturn V rockets launch in the background, and Sinatra plays on the soundtrack, then Berlanti and his movie have got you covered.
Duration: 2h 11m
6/10
