New Release: Long Shot (2019)

Director: Jonathan Levine

A flawed but funny comedy very much in keeping with Seth Rogen's comedy film career trajectory.

Long Shot tells the story of Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) – a bright and rising political star whose intelligence, political savvy, and photogenic image all suggest that she is poised to take the next great step into the presidency. During a charity dinner, Field comes across Fred Flarsky (Rogen), whom Field grew up around and even babysat for a time when she was in high school and Flarsky was in junior high. Flarsky has since become a highly independent journalist with a strong liberal bent, and one who has just quit his job at a small media outlet because it has been bought out by a massive, right-leaning media conglomerate. After their awkward reunion, Field brings Flarsky onto her team as a speech writer. The two, as different as they are in diplomacy and polish, start to reconnect and grow closer as they travel the world and try to put Field in a position to raise her political stock.

The movie is certainly entertaining enough. Like nearly every other Seth Rogen movie I’ve seen, he almost can’t help but be funny. He has always had a knack for selecting writers with whom he works well, and Long Shot has more than a few gags and lines that had me laughing out loud. It helps that the supporting cast all keep up admirably. Theron once again shows off her comic chops, though she does mostly play the "straight woman" to Rogen's typically goofy character. And others like O’Shea Jackson as Flarsky’s best friend and June Diane Raphael as Fields’s primary strategist only enhance the humor.

O'Shea Jackson Jr., left, as Flarsky's best friend, Lance.
Jackson's is one of several excellent supporting performances
that leave you wanting to see a bit more of him.

The story itself is fun enough, though lacking in a completely consistent tone. The humor is often fairly grounded, though it will take little flights into the more fantastic at times. This would normally be fine, but when one of the themes of the movie is the very real battle for women to be taken seriously and granted political power for more than just their looks, then sillier humor can feel a bit out of place. It still made me laugh, but it also dilutes what could have been a deeper message. Related is the rather obvious trope of the “dumpy, scruffy, average-looking guy hooks up with insanely beautiful woman” that is at the center of the movie. At first glance, this can be a bit off-putting. Once I thought about it, though, I actually appreciate it as a gender-reversal of sorts. In this movie, the male really has none of the obvious power here. Charlotte Field is more powerful, more beautiful, and at least as intelligent as the disheveled but principled Flarsky. For the most part, their established emotional connection feels organic enough without the woman serving the purpose of filling a powerful man’s needs. Quite the opposite – Flarsky is arguably there to fill one of the few needs that the immensely-successful Fields has – the need to rediscover what she truly loves in life, after so many years playing the game of optics in the high-stakes world of global politics.

I will offer the brief caveat that the humor in the movie can run into the raunchier end of things at times, which is par for the course in a Seth Rogen-headed film. The language is the primary source, but there are a handful of sex and body function gags in there, as well. I’m personally not bothered by such things, but it bears mentioning for those who may be put off by them.

My basic litmus test of a comedy is whether I would watch it again. With Long Shot, my answer is yes. It might not be right away, but it’s a fun rom-com that I can easily see my wife and I surfing across at night and staying to get some good laughs, along with a dash of depth.

New Release! Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The opening scene. Things are about to get totally bananas
over that horizon, Max.

No Spoilers!!

Director: George Miller

This movie is ridiculous fun, with a nice dash of stylish social commentary.

Right off, I'll admit that I've never seen all of the original 1979 Mad Max, though I know the gist of the story. I have seen The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome plenty of times. The former is an all-time great movie, while the latter is solid fun, though with some lamer elements that dilute it. Overall, I was rather curious about this reboot of an iconic and original film series.

My curiosity paid off. Big time.

In brief, Fury Road offers the goods on all sorts of levels. Right from the opening scenes, the action gets pumping right along and never really lets up. Yes, there are a few necessarily slower moments, but they give us time to breath with the characters and never drag any longer than necessary. This is something that went far awry in Thunderdome's second act. No such trouble here.

The entire post-apocalyptic world of the series has been updated marvelously. With modern technology and a massive budget, George Miller absolutely went to town. The set pieces are incredible; the countless props and costumes each suggest stories which beg to be told; and the effects and stunts are everything a summer blockbuster could possibly offer. Though fast cars and explosions do little for me, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the fast-paced and cleverly-shot pursuits that were hallmarks of the original trilogy.

Yes, that's Charlize Theron with a robotic left arm. Yes,
her character Furiosa is even more badass than she looks.

There are, in my estimation, two things that elevate Fury Road beyond a simple slam-bang monster truck rally set in the desert. One is that the tale functions as a clear allegory for modern global problems. It takes a little while to be introduced to all of the elements in it, but they are there in their amusing and disturbing glory. While this could have been executed in very clumsy ways, Miller teases them out through the narrative, piece-by-piece. Once you see the full picture, it may seem rather obvious, but I was glad that I was allowed to do the work myself, rather than have some superfluous exposition ruin the magic of it. It all spoke to a respect for the viewer which I found quite welcome.

The second aspect that sets the movie apart is the character Furiosa, played by the ever-capable Charlize Theron. This is the rare moment when a female is given equal footing with a male in an action movie. One could actually argue that Furiosa is more important to the film than Max. What I loved even more is that, while gender plays a certain key element to the plot, it is never any kind of issue in terms of who Furiosa is or what she does. She's not tough "for a woman." She's just plain old tough. It's great to see.

I'm already plotting my second viewing of this dusty monster, envisioning just how much more fun it will be to behold in 3D. I recommend this one to just about anyone who doesn't mind some visceral action and disturbing implications underlying their action movies.