Movies |
The Weekend Movie: Long Shot
By
Published: May 09, 2019
Category:
Comedy
I tend to go to foreign films, the longer and more lugubrious the better, but last weekend I saw a really funny American movie.
Would you believe: A rom-con.
Here’s the pairing: Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a crusading journalist from Brooklyn. Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is the Secretary of State. He gets hired to write jokes for her Presidential campaign, and… thus the name of the film: “Long Shot.”
“Long Shot” was released the week “Avengers: Endgame” took in $145.8 million — the 2nd biggest 2nd weekend in history — and saw its box office gross hit $2.2 billion. After just two weeks in theatres, “Avengers: Endgame” is the second-highest-grossing film of all time, closing in on James Cameron’s “Avatar.”
Over its opening weekend, “Long Shot,” playing in 3,230 theaters, took in $10,035,000. That is dreadful. It’s not premature to say the film is a flop and will quickly disappear from theaters. All the more reason for me to encourage you to see it…. quickly.
Longtime readers may recall that I never use this space to promote a film I can’t monetize. But if the previews before “Long Shot” are an indication of what awaits us this summer, we’re in for an epidemic of monsters, guns, special effects and, of course, superheroes — this may be the rare chance to see an enjoyable film starring witty people on the smart side of politics.
Consumer warning: “Long Shot” won’t thrill everyone. The President (Bob Odenkirk), who was once a reality TV star, is so monstrously stupid that, just two years into his first term, he’s decided he won’t run for re-election — he wants to move to Los Angeles and act in movies. He believes that would be a step up: How many TV actors, he asks Charlotte, have successfully made the leap to movies? Which leads him to this:
President Chambers: Charlotte, I would like to endorse you to be the next president of the United States.
Charlotte Field: Oh, my God.
President Chambers: You’ve been a great secretary.
Charlotte Field: Of state.
President Chambers: Which state again?
Charlotte Field: All of them.
And although Charlize Theron will never be confused with Hillary Clinton, you can’t make it through the movie without making the comparison.
As for Rogen, in the best of circumstances, you think of him as badly dressed, hairy as an escapee from an R. Crumb cartoon, probably stoned, and likely to have sub-par hygiene. He plays that guy again here. As New York Times critic Manohla Dargis correctly points out, this pairing is “preposterous.” Rogen’s best friend — a black, Christian Republican — puts it more kindly: “It’s ‘Pretty Woman,’ but she’s Richard Gere and you’re Julia Roberts.” Some Gere! Theron is a thrill, crisp in her official role, very much not in the rare moments she’s off-duty.
The talk — that’s the charm of the movie. It’s rapid-fire, and it’s often ironic, the way you and I talk. With f-bombs. And emotions that don’t seem taken from a screenplay manual.
Fred Flarsky: So how does that work with you? Do you like date?
Charlotte Field: Uh, yeah. I date. Generally, you know, with people who have similar lifestyles to me, people who travel a lot. It’s hard to keep those things alive. I mean who wants to follow me around the world and hope I have five minutes to be affectionate?
Fred Flarsky: Yeah.
Charlotte Field: And honestly, guys don’t really want to date women who are more powerful than them. They think they do, but it’s a dick shriveller.
Fred Flarsky: Oof.
Charlotte Field: Mm-hmm.
Fred Flarsky: Dick Shriveller is my favorite Batman villain though, so. Are you going to ask why I’m still single?
Charlotte Field: Yeah, I get it. It makes sense.
Fred Flarsky: Yeah, it adds up.
A nice touch: Rogen’s best friend may be a Republican and a Christian, but we catch a glimpse of a Basquiat on his wall. That’s the kind of detail that makes you watch just a bit more closely. It certainly makes you grateful you’re not watching Godzilla save the planet.
