MOVIE OF THE WEEK (5/3/19): LONG SHOT
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| "Please tell me that you like this jacket enough for me to give one to you for a present." Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) and Charlotte Fields (Charlize Theron) have an impromptu meeting in a scene from LONG SHOT. Credit: Phillip Bossé. © 2019 Lionsgate Movies |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., Ravi Patel, June Diane Raphael, Bob Odenkirk, Tristan D. Lalla, Alexander Skarsgård and Andy Serkis
DIRECTOR(S): Jonathan Levine
DIRECTOR(S): Jonathan Levine
WEB SITE: https://longshot.movie/
THE BACK STORY: Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is the Secretary of State and with President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk) prepared to leave the White House after one term to go pursue his dreams of transitioning from TV to politics to movies, she's primed to become the next Democratic nominee. Her poll numbers are great, which make her two trusted assistants Maggie (June Diane Raphael) and Tom (Ravi Patel) very happy – if she can just get her humor stats higher, things might just be perfect.
Meanwhile, Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a talented journalist for The Brooklyn Advocate, an independent paper that is no longer independent since it just got purchase by Parker Wembley (Andy Serkis), a Rupert Murdoch-like media mogul who is determined to get a meeting with Charlotte by any means necessary. This prompts Fred to quit, which in turn prompts his successful best friend Lance (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) to take him out for a day and night on the town to help him forget his troubles, which includes a stop at a party where Boyz II Men (playing themselves) will taking the stage.
Charlotte needs a speech writer. Fred needs a job. And since they both grew up in Washington, D.C. liking Boyz II Men when a 16 year-old version of her was the babysitter to the 13 year-old version of him, guess who's at the same party?
Rekindling their old friendship, Charlotte and Fred immediately hit it off ... But once they start working together, the two of them notice there may be more to their professional relationship than just being professional. But with her so reportedly out of his league, Charlotte's staff is concerned how Fred and his image could affect her campaign ... And the Canadian Prime Minister (Alexander Skarsgård would love to take Fred's place (if he knew about them).
But with the future of the free world in Fred's typing fingers and Charlotte's hands, their relationship may have to take a back seat to good of the country.
Meanwhile, Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a talented journalist for The Brooklyn Advocate, an independent paper that is no longer independent since it just got purchase by Parker Wembley (Andy Serkis), a Rupert Murdoch-like media mogul who is determined to get a meeting with Charlotte by any means necessary. This prompts Fred to quit, which in turn prompts his successful best friend Lance (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) to take him out for a day and night on the town to help him forget his troubles, which includes a stop at a party where Boyz II Men (playing themselves) will taking the stage.
Charlotte needs a speech writer. Fred needs a job. And since they both grew up in Washington, D.C. liking Boyz II Men when a 16 year-old version of her was the babysitter to the 13 year-old version of him, guess who's at the same party?
Rekindling their old friendship, Charlotte and Fred immediately hit it off ... But once they start working together, the two of them notice there may be more to their professional relationship than just being professional. But with her so reportedly out of his league, Charlotte's staff is concerned how Fred and his image could affect her campaign ... And the Canadian Prime Minister (Alexander Skarsgård would love to take Fred's place (if he knew about them).
But with the future of the free world in Fred's typing fingers and Charlotte's hands, their relationship may have to take a back seat to good of the country.
THE REVIEW: Romantic comedies used to be simple: Pretty guy meets and sees pretty girl, they meet up in some way, they fall for each other, boy reveals sensitive side/girl reveals side that was the opposite of what her character leads you to believe and after a revelation where one if not both realize they can't live without the other, they get together in the final act. Sometimes the story is a bit more fairy tale-like (think Pretty Woman), sometimes it's more Romeo & Juliet-like and sometimes it's just too formulaic for you to even care. Then you get those rare ones that become classics because they are either just really funny, they dig deep into the human experience and/or they just find a way to make a timeless story feel new again because they combine the humor with a heartfelt touch that makes you care about the characters. And ultimately, they connect with audiences because they have a quality to them that just makes you feel good when you watch them, think about the one you love and/or make you think about how love is something you are ready to pursue/rekindle in your own life.
Long Shot – a movie whose title serves as a double entendre in regards to both Charlotte's candidacy and Fred's romantic chances with her – is one of those romantic comedies that sticks with you because in addition to being funny and smart, its characters feel real to both the audience and to each other. Thus, save for some of the ribald drug use and bodily fluids, it should be a long shot most audiences won't fall in love with it.
While Rogen has mastered the art of playing seemingly shlubby guys who turn out to actually be nice guys with real feelings that the average guy can relate to, Long Shot only works as well as it does because Theron is able to balance that with her performance. Don't get it twisted – Rogen has perfected the art of seeming like he's not acting but really is speaking the way many guys would if they found themselves in a similar situation, Theron's performance is layered enough where she (1) makes her character completely believable as a woman of power; (2) makes herself sympathetic as a woman in a position of power trying to play by the rules; (3) a woman who has a private side that is completely different than her professional side and (4) has found a guy she really likes and is willing to fight for him. As everyone around them – save for Jackson's and Tristan D. Lalla's secret service character Agent M – tries to downplay their relationship, Theron balances Rogen's character's pining for it to work by simply trying to prove to those around her why it does.
Don't worry though – the film balances out all these lovey-dovey moments with great, inspired moments of comedy. Jackson, Jr. continues to prove that while his famous father may have the cache, he may be the one in the family with the better acting chops and Theron proves her greatness as a complete actress; who else could play the lead in Atomic Blonde and Monster and then exhibit the comedic chops she does here? If nothing else, Long Shot will make sure you never hear the words "Oh boy!" and not laugh or wince again.
To quote author Paulo Coelho of The Alchemist, "One is loved because one is loved. No reason for loving is needed." Long Shot shows this to a proverbial "T" because while no one else seems to get their relationship. But no one else needs to, just like no one else needs to get two people in the real world save for those two people. Beauty can be skin deep as the cliché goes, but once the looks wear off, there has to be a person that you can laugh with, cry with, confide in, dream with and share all those intimate moments you just can't on a level with anyone else. In Long Shot, you really see that is what matters most as the characters reconnect with one another as the story progresses. It's not that they get along, it's that they truly need each other and they are the only ones who can make the other feel like everything will be OK. That is the true long shot in life; finding that person who makes you feel electric every time you see them where the world shrinks down to a smaller place where you and they are the only ones in it.
Fortunately for audiences, Long Shot offers the entire world to experience that for 2 hours before they (hopefully) go on to enjoy in their own lives for more.
Long Shot – a movie whose title serves as a double entendre in regards to both Charlotte's candidacy and Fred's romantic chances with her – is one of those romantic comedies that sticks with you because in addition to being funny and smart, its characters feel real to both the audience and to each other. Thus, save for some of the ribald drug use and bodily fluids, it should be a long shot most audiences won't fall in love with it.
While Rogen has mastered the art of playing seemingly shlubby guys who turn out to actually be nice guys with real feelings that the average guy can relate to, Long Shot only works as well as it does because Theron is able to balance that with her performance. Don't get it twisted – Rogen has perfected the art of seeming like he's not acting but really is speaking the way many guys would if they found themselves in a similar situation, Theron's performance is layered enough where she (1) makes her character completely believable as a woman of power; (2) makes herself sympathetic as a woman in a position of power trying to play by the rules; (3) a woman who has a private side that is completely different than her professional side and (4) has found a guy she really likes and is willing to fight for him. As everyone around them – save for Jackson's and Tristan D. Lalla's secret service character Agent M – tries to downplay their relationship, Theron balances Rogen's character's pining for it to work by simply trying to prove to those around her why it does.
Don't worry though – the film balances out all these lovey-dovey moments with great, inspired moments of comedy. Jackson, Jr. continues to prove that while his famous father may have the cache, he may be the one in the family with the better acting chops and Theron proves her greatness as a complete actress; who else could play the lead in Atomic Blonde and Monster and then exhibit the comedic chops she does here? If nothing else, Long Shot will make sure you never hear the words "Oh boy!" and not laugh or wince again.
To quote author Paulo Coelho of The Alchemist, "One is loved because one is loved. No reason for loving is needed." Long Shot shows this to a proverbial "T" because while no one else seems to get their relationship. But no one else needs to, just like no one else needs to get two people in the real world save for those two people. Beauty can be skin deep as the cliché goes, but once the looks wear off, there has to be a person that you can laugh with, cry with, confide in, dream with and share all those intimate moments you just can't on a level with anyone else. In Long Shot, you really see that is what matters most as the characters reconnect with one another as the story progresses. It's not that they get along, it's that they truly need each other and they are the only ones who can make the other feel like everything will be OK. That is the true long shot in life; finding that person who makes you feel electric every time you see them where the world shrinks down to a smaller place where you and they are the only ones in it.
Fortunately for audiences, Long Shot offers the entire world to experience that for 2 hours before they (hopefully) go on to enjoy in their own lives for more.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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