Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon, from director Greg Berlanti, is a fantasy concoction of commentary and conspiracy, with heaping helping of romantic comedy, in a creation that fails to fully ignite. Taking place during the Apollo 10 and 11 missions, the film concerns a “media maven” with a shady past, hired by a shadowy government operative, to help NASA with an image-and money-problem. Into the mix is added the straight-arrow mission control director, who carries guilt from the fatal failure of the Grissom mission years prior. Yet, this is not a drama. It is instead a comedy, a satire.

Courtesy Sony Pictures

The film is highly fantastical, and while the trailer will make you think this is one thing, this reviewer can assure you that the film is not borne of the paranoia and conspiracy it appears to be coming from, which is a positive. Instead, this becomes an examination of truth and falsehood, of honor and the lack thereof. It has elements concerning trauma, yet, as a comedy, never allows itself to dig as deeply as it probably could have. Instead, the film likes to dress itself in 1960’s aesthetics, while not being consistent about the approach. The mock turtlenecks worn by the leading man fit more into an Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement than anything seen at NASA in 1968 and 1969.

Despite a fine cast that does the best with a mediocre script, and production design which is serviceable, the film is not something to truly recommend. There are mysteries which remains mysteries until it no longer matters, and character development which happens offscreen. Additionally, the main character of the piece remains reckless for too long, despite indications her greatest gift is adapting to any situation. This is a recipe for a tepid piece that, despite some terrific moments, makes the work about the parts rather than the whole.

Courtesy Sony Pictures

There are times the film wants to be a bit of a caper, and others it wants to be social commentary, or a slightly screwball comedy. In the end, the indecision and sheer greed of trying to do it all results in a film that feels adrift, not unlike an astronaut that has lost their tether. Greg Berlanti has a reputation from his days overseeing the Arrowverse, on CW, of being very ambitious. His generally light touch does not allow the more dramatic moments to land as they might and his insistence on going for easy drama, rather than tough, makes for a film where the tensions and stakes are not as high as they ought to be.

Indeed, the film can only end one way, and yet that does not make it any less entertaining, on a superficial level. As a sort of alternate history of “what might really have happened” this could be fun, and yet there is a danger here. The marketing will have you thinking this is always and only about the moon landing being faked. Spoilers begin here, because it is not. In fact, the characters are not ordered to do so until well into the film, which means that much of the dramatic heft of the film is backloaded, but the resolution is where you can see the makes trying to have it both ways. No, this film does not purport that the moon landing was faked but does purport that a fake moon landing was shot, just in case it was needed.

Courtesy Sony Pictures

The film looks for easy solutions to big character problems without any consequences, something the truly classic comedies, by writers like Wilder, Sturges, Allen and more, know just cannot be. Comedy is hard, and drama is easy. Being serviceable at both is about all this ends up being. But, there is a great line toward the end, about truth and lies, which could make you rethink the entire film as commentary on media reporting and what people are willing to believe. A bit more of that, and this could have been something truly special, rather than a forgettable if somewhat entertaining film.

Fly Me to the Moon is now playing in theaters.