Long Shot

Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, June Diane Raphael, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Ravi Patel, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Serkis, Randall Park, Tristan D. Lalla, Alexander Skarsgard, Lisa Kudrow
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A journalist (Seth Rogen) goes to work for his former babysitter (Charlize Theron), who is now one of the most powerful people in the world and is seriously considering a U.S. Presidential run.

Review:

Tim: Long Shot is such an appealing movie. Sure, there are some ridiculous aspects of the script that you have to willingly turn a blind eye to, but it's worth it. It's an entertaining, funny, sweet movie that I had a lot of fun watching. It might not be good enough to be truly memorable, but it's not a bad way to spend two hours.

When you consider this movie and what they tried to do, it feels like there's no way this story should work. An online journalist who doesn't adhere to any rules or good manners gets hired as a speech writer for his former babysitter (and someone he had a major crush on), who is brilliant, beautiful, and is running for President. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this whole thing and I've seen the movie. It feels ridiculous writing this because it sounds like a made up thing, not an actual movie. And, it's not just a movie, but a good one. Somehow Jonathan Levine pulls these different pieces together and makes it work. The film is enjoyable- from beginning to end. It's probably too long at 2 hours, 5 minutes, but it never feels too long. It was just a lot of fun to watch.

The most critical aspect of the film is the pairing of Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. These two couldn't be more different and there's no reason for them to be in the same movie. And yet, they are. And not only that, they're really good together. They actually have a good deal of chemistry together. It feels so weird writing that, but they work so well together on screen. Rogen is just doing his thing. His shtick might be a bit one-note, but he's so damn good at it. It's easy to forgive him because he's so dopey and likeable. Rogen is also intelligent, though, and he brings that into this character. He's the kind of person you sort of pity and yet root for as well. He was good. Theron continues to showcase why she's one of the best actresses working today. She plays an American politician and she deftly balances seeming believable as a politician and yet also being the kind of person you'd like to grab a beer with. Rogen got to show up and do his thing, but Theron had this incredible tightrope she needed to walk. What's amazing is that she pulls it off. She's so fun to watch on screen. There's scenes where she is high on ecstasy and it's just unbelievably good acting. You can't stress enough how important Theron is to this movie. So much of the film's success rests on her shoulders and her performance is a big reason why this film is so entertaining.

The supporting cast is good, too. I really enjoyed O'Shea Jackson Jr. I'm really impressed with him as an actor. He was quite enjoyable to watch here. Bob Odenkirk's performance was a little forced, but I like him a lot and enjoyed seeing him here. Andy Serkis added a nice supporting performance, as did Alexander Skarsgard. The supporting cast worked really well here.

Long Shot is still just a bit of a hard movie to quantify. It's funny and entertaining, and it takes a story that shouldn't work and somehow makes it work. There are a number of aspects of the story that don't work and do require a lot of suspended disbelief. Theron and Rogen are really good together, which is surprising. The movie received good reviews from critics but didn't do well at the box office. It's a movie that isn't quite memorable enough, but it's absolutely enjoyable. I'm still not fully sure how to explain my thoughts and feelings about this film, but it's definitely a good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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