As you may already know (if you don't believe me, check Telegram), the 1969 Moon landing was a hoax. What was seen on TV and repeated every anniversary was filmed by Kubrick. Even the famous line "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was just a scriptwriter's phrase. And let's not even get started on the fallacy that the Earth is shaped like an orange. It's a lie, it's much larger.
'Fly Me to the Moon' hits theaters to challenge ideas that we may have taken for granted for too long. Who said that a romantic comedy couldn't also be a thriller? Whose idea was it that all movies made for streaming platforms (this one carries Apple's stamp) look too similar? Let's just say that director Greg Berlanti's effort is much about debunking, and in fact, the main argument is precisely that: the act of undoing lies, which is to un-lie; or to find out what has happened to us as a society to reach a point where lies end up being more attractive and seductive than simply what our eyes see, eyes that are the result of a social and shared effort. And so on.
It is true that this noble endeavor is only partially successful. To give a quick diagnosis, 'Fly Me to the Moon' is original and clever in its attempt to blend two theoretically irreconcilable voices like suspense and romantic farce, but as the saying goes, it pays the price for its sins. The difference in tones and rhythms between one genre and the other doesn't always align. Romantic comedy demands a suspension of disbelief that undermines much of the viewer's engagement with the story, which suspense requires. Knowing in advance what cannot be creates little suspense, to sum it up. As for the second question from the previous paragraph, let's just say that someone should study Apple's obsession with lunar productions set in the 60s. But that's another matter.
The movie tells the unlikely story of a marketing executive who one day arrived at NASA with the mission of bringing the Moon landing to American homes. As if making the same journey, but in reverse: not towards the stratosphere but towards the living room. And do it at all costs, well aware that advertising is, to a certain extent, the most elaborate form of lying. From here, Berlanti manages to invent a romance between her and the agency's operations director and, while at it, imagine a dark plot fueled by Nixon's government (the great liar) to ensure the success of the Apollo 11 mission. The idea is to film a fake and alternative moon landing in a studio, just in case and for Kubrick's sake. And at this point, the initial questions arise: what is truth and what is a lie in a world where only the accounts that count matter? Can falsehood be justified if the purpose is truly honest? And so on.
There is no denying that 'Fly Me to the Moon' seizes the moment and the opportunity. Few ways are as timely and unique to address the very current 'fake news' from another perspective and even giving them a genealogy that we never imagined. They come from far back or, better said, they have always been there, the movie tells us. The issue, once again, is that with so many intertwined arguments (in addition to this, there is the romantic entanglement and a thousand other considerations to fill in), the main argument loses strength.
And let's not forget Scarlett Johansson. And here, everything is real. We already knew about her ability to impose her presence in drama ('Marriage Story', for example), in the physical superhero movies, or in the intellectualized comedy of Wes Anderson. Now, however, and not entirely new, her ease of being present and absent, of speaking without uttering a word, of breaking into laughter with a tear, of overwhelming with a smile... Yes, definitively, Scarlett Johansson captivates in the role of a compulsive and lunatic liar.
And yes, let's not dwell on it, we made it to the Moon, and, from what we see, we're still there.
Director: Greg Berlanti. Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Jim Rash, Ray Romano. Duration: 132 minutes. Nationality: United States.