Fly Me to the Moon (3 stars out of 4)
The Space Race of the 1960s has delivered some fantastic movies over the years. Based on the
excellent Tom Wolfe novel of the same name, “The Right Stuff” was the first one I remember,
tracing the story of the Mercury Astronauts in the aftermath of Sputnik. 2019’s “Apollo 11” was
a fascinating documentary, built entirely of footage collected around the first moon landing,
and Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” offered a compelling dramatization of the same story.
“Hidden Figures” shed light on some of the people behind the scenes of the interstellar action,
but to my knowledge, Greg Berlanti’s “Fly Me to the Moon” is the first film to add romantic
comedy to the saga.
Like “Hidden Figures,” “Fly Me to the Moon” focuses on the people whose names haven’t been
celebrated by history. Specifically, it tells the story of a woman charged with keeping the public
engaged in an effort that had to compete for attention with the Civil Rights Movement and the
Vietnam War…even if that required her to bend the truth a bit.
We meet Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) as a calculating advertising executive in New York
City. She’s sharp enough to stay one step ahead of her clients, a skill she likely developed while
changing her name multiple times to stay one step ahead of the authorities. When a shady G-
man named Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) catches up to her, he makes her an offer she can’t
refuse: come work her magic with the space program, or else.
Though we celebrate it now, working public affairs for NASA wasn’t exactly a glamorous gig at
the time. Thousands of people were hard at work trying to fulfill President Kennedy’s promise
to put a man on the moon, but conflicts like Vietnam had left various congressmen and
senators wary of pouring money and attention into what some had begun to see as a frivolous
exercise.
Kelly’s job gets that much harder when she realizes that a lot of those workers would rather not
be bothered with PR, especially mission commander Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), an All-
American who missed his chance to be an astronaut thanks to a faulty heart condition. To keep
the coffers flowing, Kelly has to put on a performance for the men in power, and find a way to
keep Cole from undermining her efforts.
“Fly Me to the Moon,” then, settles into two narrative tracks: in the first, Kelly and Cole work to
make the upcoming Apollo 11 mission a success. In the second, Kelly and Cole negotiate a love-
hate relationship that seems to hinge on whether the first effort pans out.
Tatum is a solid lead, and brings his usual charm and charisma to the part. But this movie is
really Johansson’s chance to shine, and in a cast full of strong performances, she’s the one who
truly feels indispensable. Kelly is the character with the most obvious arc, and it’s fun to see her
work her magic with Cole and Moe, especially when she’s ultimately asked to stage a phony
version of the landing to broadcast alongside the real thing…just in case.
“Fly Me to the Moon” claims to be “inspired by” real events, a grade below “based on” which
suggests everything we see should basically be treated as fictional. For their part, Berlanti and
co. tell a story that is just believable enough to buy into, and it’s a fun enough movie that you
won’t find yourself caring too much about what actually happened behind the scenes in 1969.
(The film also has a sly sense of humor, making all sorts of nods to the longstanding rumor that
Stanley Kubrick secretly filmed the moon landing on a soundstage.)
The fun vibe, punctuated by a variety of period music from Sam Cooke and other contemporary
artists—though oddly, never Frank Sinatra—really carries the film. It may not be up there with
“The Right Stuff,” but anyone looking for a fun date movie—or just an alternative to the wide
range of sequels, prequels, and remakes in theaters—should be happy with this one.
“Fly Me to the Moon” is rated PG-13 for scattered profanity and adult themes.