Fly Me to the Moon uses the historic Apollo 11 moon landing as its backdrop to set the stage for one of the biggest PR missions in history.

“We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.” – President John F. Kennedy, Moon Speech, Rice University, September 12, 1962

A brief montage sets the tone for the space race between America and Russia. The Cold War is in full swing as the 60s near their end. But what of NASA? They have a public image problem and are no closer to landing a man on the moon despite spending millions of dollars. Congressional budget cuts aren’t helping the cause. Furthermore, a countless number of Americans are losing their lives in Vietnam. This is where PR/marketing guru Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) comes in. The Nixon administration’s shadowy Moe Burkus (Woody Harrelson) brings her on specifically to fix the public image. It doesn’t matter what launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) believes–the two are complete opposites when it comes to their jobs. Kelly brings a Madison Avenue approach to one of the biggest projects in American history!

Seeing Cole have no choice but to go along with Kelly is a cause for laughter, especially when they have undeniable chemistry between them. Meanwhile, one of the ideas for helping the mission in the public eye is placing a camera on the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle, inspired by news reporters embedding themselves with troops in Vietnam as more of them lose their lives. It comes with a catch. Burkus forces Kelly to stage the moon landing, fearing something could go wrong. However, nobody can know about Project Artemis, not even Cole. Kelly and her assistant, Ruby (Anna Garcia), have to get really creative about production design and everything. The idea that they are taking photos for an Apollo 11 book is certainly plausible. As for the fake landing, anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong. Is Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash) up to the challenge?

The idea that the moon landing was faked is a longtime conspiracy theory. However, this doesn’t stop NASA from giving the film its seal of approval and working with the filmmakers. It’s enough that Fly Me to the Moon has access to footage that has not even been used in other films, not even the Todd Douglas Miller documentary about the mission itself! In many ways, it’s ironic that the film is looking at it through the conspiracy theory lens. It wasn’t lost on Berlanti according to the production notes:

“The movie is ultimately about why the truth is important, and yet, we’re doing it by looking at a very famous conspiracy theory! By working very hard to craft how that actually could have been achieved, we know that there are some people who might say we’re just giving more credence to the idea that this thing may not have been real. But the movie is ultimately about why it is important we went. In those more serious moments, you had to believe in those things too. And if you’re doing a movie about faking one of the famous moments in human history, you have to make the real moments in human history feel very real, so that the faking has stakes.”

Daniel Pemberton is certainly no stranger to score projects that blend genres. This is a film that finds the right balance between comedy and drama and the score is no different. A scene could be funny and the next thing you know, there’s a dramatic moment and Pemberton rises to the occasion. He has the right balance in his work with music that realizes the importance of NASA and its mission and music that underscores the comedy in other scenes. Not to mention the relationship between both Kelly and Cole. He also honors the time period, too, by paying homage to the likes of Quincy Jones and John Barry. The fact that they used Pemberton’s previous work in the temp soundtrack speaks for itself. Two tracks that stand out are “For All Mankind” and “Kelly Jones, Creative Director.”

Interestingly enough, there’s a universe where Scarlett Johansson stars opposite Chris Evans in a film directed by Jason Bateman. Project Artemis took a different direction with Bateman dropping out due to creative differences, Greg Berlanti stepping in, and then Channing Tatum replacing Evans. Interestingly, scheduling conflicts prevented Johannson from starring alongside Evans in Ghosted. Maybe we’ll get another chance in the future to see a Black Widow-Captain America reunion in a non-MCU project but we’ll see what happens. In any event, there’s plenty of comedy and drama in this one!

The film is not without its creative licenses. For one, Cole Davis does not exist. When one looks up the personnel for the Apollo 11 mission, you would not find Cole Davis under the flight director for launch. Nor will you find Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) listed as the deputy flight director. However, Gerry Griffin did serve as an advisor to the film as did NASA’s chief historian, Brian Odom. Davis’s reaction to questions about the Apollo 1 deaths in 1967 feels very authentic for this reason. It was a day that haunted NASA and I would imagine still does so today. NASA has a day of remembrance to remember the lives of the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews.

Fly Me to the Moon may be a bit long but this unique rom-com–with a side of drama–is a celebration of NASA and a dream that once seemed impossible.

DIRECTOR: Greg Berlanti
SCREENWRITER: Rose Gilroy
STORY BY: Keenan Flynn & Bill Kirstein
CAST: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins, Colin Woodell, Christian Zuber, Donald Elise Watkins, with Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson

Columbia Pictures releases Fly Me to the Moon in theaters on July 12, 2024. Apple TV+ will start streaming the film at a later date. Grade: 4/5

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