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© Point Grey Pictures
By: Daniel Andrade
Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen are
two celebrities you wouldn’t expect to see in the same movie, let alone as love
interests for each other. One is an Academy Award winning actress often known
for her elegance and sophistication. The other is a notorious stoner with an
oddly annoying yet infectious laugh. But somehow, Long Shot makes this
seemingly impossible love story work, and has you laughing throughout its
entire run time.
Long Shot
tells the story of the ambitious Charlotte Field (portrayed by Theron),
Secretary of State for the United States with plans to become the first female
President, and Fred Flarsky (portrayed by Rogen), an investigative reporter who
isn’t afraid to speak his mind, for better and for worse. They are from two
totally different worlds, but are connected to each other through their past,
since they actually went to high school together, and Charlotte was Fred’s
first crush. When they happen to run into each other at a swanky event and
discover their shared past, Charlotte takes Fred on as her speechwriter, and
from this foundation, an unbelievable love story is born.
There was a theory going around a
while back that asking a certain 36 questions to a complete stranger will lead
you to fall in love with them. They start off simple enough (what is a
“perfect” day for you?), but eventually get much more personal and emotional
(when did you last cry in front of someone?). The theory is that getting
intimate and vulnerable with a person, and doing it one-on-one and getting this
person’s full attention, leads to this establishment of trust and comfort. You
can definitely see this in action in the movie. In order for Flarsky to write
more convincing and impactful speeches for Ford, he starts asking her a bunch
of questions to try to get to know her better. Similarly, the questions start
off simple enough, but quickly delve into the intimate and personal. Indeed, the
driving force behind this film is the strangely incredible chemistry shared
between Theron and Rogen. Rogen is able to class it up a bit while still maintaining
his trademark sense of humor, while Theron is able to let loose and silly while
still maintaining her grace. And it’s wonderful to watch this relationship
slowly grow and develop, and you genuinely want it to work out for the both of
them, because they both deserve that kind of love, for one reason or another.
But this is a rom com, so how is
the “com” portion? I’m happy to say this is certainly one of the funnier movies
I’ve seen in a long while. Rogen is of-course hilarious, but I was very
pleasantly surprised with Theron’s comedic abilities. They genuinely have some
funny and charming moments together, particularly some funny moments in a
nightclub that I know you all will enjoy! But I would be remiss if I didn’t
talk about the excellent supporting cast as well. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is
hilarious and oddly empowering as Fred’s best friend Lance, with witty
one-liners but also inspiring words of wisdom for Fred scattered perfectly
throughout the film. Bob Odenkirk plays a brilliant parody of our current
President, a man obsessed with TV and clueless as how to actually be Commander
in Chief. It’s funny, but also sad in a way because it’s actually not too far
from reality. June Diane Raphael and Ravi Patel play Charlotte’s campaign
managers and assistants, constantly looking for ways to boost her image and
gain her poll points. Alexander Skarsgard plays the charming yet goofy Canadian
Prime Minister constantly pining for Charlotte, to mixed results. Finally, we
have master of disguise Andy Serkis playing a parody of Rupert Murdoch, an
insufferable TV mogul trying to monopolize the news stations. With other short
but memorable performances by other comedic notables like Randall Park, Lisa
Kudrow, Paul Scheer, Kurt Braunohler, and Claudia O’Doherty, there is no
shortage of good belly laughs to be had here.
As you probably gathered by my use
of the word parody multiple times above, there’s also a bit of political satire
going on this movie. It’s not overwhelming, and doesn’t detract from the main
romantic comedy, but it is enough to poke fun at our current state of political
affairs while also providing a good message. While there will certainly be
incompetent, powerful people who will try to get in the way of social progress
and will try to either silence or drown out these progressive voices, it
doesn’t mean that message can’t still be shared with the public. It may require
breaking social norms and shocking some people, but it can still happen. We
also need to be better about not making quick assumptions about others either,
simply due to their political affiliation. While it may be easy to do so, it
may prevent you from hearing an often times much-needed change of perspective.
Like I said, this movie doesn’t beat you over the head with this more political
message, it’s just an interesting little addition to the overall story.
CONCLUSION:
Long Shot is a hilarious, heartwarming, charming movie that will make you laugh
and maybe even cry a little. The chemistry shared between Theron and Rogen is
delightful to watch unfold and grow, and truly brings out the best in both of
these actors. With an incredible supporting cast around
them as well, this movie is certainly worth your time and attention.
SCORE: 4/5
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