Fly Me to the Moon (2024)

We were very entertained by this rom-com about a clever marketing professional helping NASA get public support for Apollo 11, the first moon landing, in 1969. Scarlett Johannson is delightful in that role as is Channing Tatum as her adversarial launch director. Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano are key in the enormous cast.

Greg Berlanti directs from a fleshed out screenplay by Rose Gilroy, with story credit given to Keenan Flynn & Bill Kirstein. I've read that the 2014 nonfiction book Marketing the Moon by David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek had an influence. And a real public relations expert Julian Scheer did help sell the moon launch to a skeptical America.

Daniel Pemberton's 60s-influenced lively score is available to stream on Apple Music and elsewhere. Luscious photography, production design, and wardrobe are thanks to Dariusz Wolski, Shane Valentino, and Mary Zophres, respectively.

Johansson was last blogged for Asteroid City, Tatum for Logan Lucky, Harrelson for Zombieland: Double Tap, Romano for Somewhere in Queens, Pemberton for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Wolski for House of Gucci, and Zophres for Babylon.

Berlanti, who has directed three other features, is better known as the prolific TV producer of Dawson's Creek, Brothers & Sisters, The Flight Attendant, and dozens more. This is the first script for Gilroy, who happens to be the daughter of actress Rene Russo and writer Tony Gilroy. Flynn & Kirstein also make their feature debuts, and the latter is also a cinematographer, having shot Mean Girls and others. Valentino has a few nominations for his work on Nocturnal Animals and The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics aren't flying so high with a 65% avergae, but its audiences are soaring at 90. We rented it on August 30 on Apple TV but today it appears to be available only to buy for $19.99 there and on Prime Video. Give it time and it'll come down (see what I did there?).