Fly Me to the Moon | We walked – or not – on the Moon

In the late 1960s, the U.S. government hired a marketing expert to help NASA secure the funding it needed to send Apollo 11 to the Moon.

Some people remain convinced that man has never walked on the Moon.

An old conspiracy theory claims that the great director Stanley Kubrick filmed the moon landing in a vast studio.

In reality, it was the flamboyant Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash) who obtained this top-secret mandate.

At least that’s what he claims Fly Me to the Moonin French), a romantic comedy set in the late 1960s, when the United States was trying to overtake the USSR in the famous space race. But before recreating the lunar surface in a hangar, it was first necessary to revive the public’s and politicians’ interest in the stars.

New York advertising queen Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is recruited by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) of the U.S. government to help restore NASA’s reputation, which has been shaken by the tragedy of Apollo 1 and is seen as a financial drain as the Vietnam conflict drags on. In exchange, he promises to “erase” Kelly’s troubled past.

The woman, as convinced as she is convincing, arrives in Cocoa Beach, near the Kennedy Space Center, with her assistant Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia, comical in a too small role). The evening of her arrival, Kelly meets Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) at the local restaurant. It’s love at first sight… but he disappears without much reason.

They meet again the next day on the grounds of the space center, because Cole is the director of the Apollo 11 mission. Closed to the idea of ​​transforming the noble NASA into an advertising vehicle, he rejects all the ideas of the marketing specialist. Moe reminds him that the coffers are empty. Kelly then deploys her talent as a saleswoman. From partnerships with Omega and Tang to the support of senators, Kelly is of formidable efficiency.

Fly Me to the Moon is too, especially in its first half. With smiles and glances, Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, Black Widow) perfectly embodies the charisma associated with Hollywood stars of the time. Her confidence and dynamism are not affected by her flaws that she wears proudly. Because to achieve her goals, Kelly does not hesitate to lie. Cole’s integrity will prevent him from succumbing to the charms of his new colleague. While she will never hide her initial desire, he will maintain a false rivalry rooted in a professional zeal that only he imposes on himself. Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, Logan Lucky) manages to make this astonishing position credible thanks to his acting showing the determination needed to get to the Moon.

True or false

The second part of the feature film, just over two hours long, is devoted to the planning of the moon landing both in space and in the studio. This gives rise to some good moments of tension and beautiful images of the takeoff of Saturn V as well as some funny moments in the training of the astronaut actors and the ridiculous whims of the director.

Better known for his work as a television writer, Greg Berlanti, who replaced Jason Bateman behind the camera, takes his time. More originality wouldn’t have hurt, but his classic approach benefits the dense script by Rose Gilroy (daughter of filmmaker Dan Gilroy and actress Rene Russo).

Despite the thousands of NASA employees, we only get to know two nice engineers and Henry Smalls (Ray Romano), Cole’s sort of mentor. These and the few other secondary characters are endearing, but remain superficial.

Kelly and Cole’s relationship is at least explored more in the second half. Like the premise, the two will try to find out if what exists between them is true. It’s cliché, but with good actors, we can believe it.

Indoors

Period romantic comedy

Fly Me to the Moon (VF: Take me to the moon)

Greg Berlanti

With Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson

2:12

6.5/10