Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron make a delightful romantic and
comedic pairing, as a schlubby journalist and the
glamorous politician who falls for him, in Jonathan Levine’s “Long Shot.” The
R-rated romantic comedy is a bit raunchy, a little sweet, and totally
entertaining.
Rogen plays Fred Flarsky, an
idealistic but hot-tempered writer for a Brooklyn alternative newspaper. He’s a
consummate journalist, with an unyielding devotion to getting a story no matter
the cost. When we watch him attempt to infiltrate a white supremacist
organization under the name “Aryan Grande,” he somehow winds up agreeing to get
a swastika tattooed on his arm.
But then the paper Fred works for gets purchased by mega
media conglomerate (pretty obviously a stand-in for Fox, with a Rupert Murdoch-esque owner played by Andy Serkis), he immediately quits
his position. That principled response is good for his pride but not much else,
and he finds himself out of a job with nothing to show for it.
In an effort to lift his spirits, Fred’s best friend Lance
(O’Shea Jackson Jr., turning in another excellent comedic supporting role —
when will someone let him headline his own film already?) takes him out for a
night of drinking, and they end up at a swanky charity event. There Fred runs
into his childhood crush, Charlotte Field, who just happens to be Secretary of
State.
Through a convoluted series of interactions, Fred ends up
charming her, and as she prepares to make a run for the presidency, Charlotte
hires him as a speechwriter. Suddenly Fred’s accompanying her on a
continent-spanning tour as she promotes her pet project: a wide-ranging,
international, environmental initiative that will become a key part of her platform.
Along the way, sparks begin to fly between the pair.
The film takes some biting shots at the very real double
standard faced by women, and the way female public figures are endlessly
scrutinized based on ridiculously superficial criteria. It’s not hard to think
of plenty real-life parallels in the current election cycle, and the way
criticisms of many female candidates seem to largely stem from their appearance
and “likeability” than any issues of real consequence.
Rogen and Theron have a wonderful chemistry, and they make
for a surprisingly well-balanced team. Rogen’s definitely in his wheelhouse,
but it’s always a pleasure to see Theron get more chances to show off how funny
she can be. Here she gets to drink, curse, have sex, and negotiate an
international hostage crisis while under the influence of molly.
The film spends a lot of time justifying why someone who
looks like Theron would even look twice at someone like Rogen. But the attempt
at balance feels a little self-conscious, overlooking the fact that there are
plenty of us out there who think Rogen is pretty damn attractive, thank you
very much.
For all its odd-couple pairings, its depiction of a
mainstream politician who genuinely wants to get things done is perhaps what
most obviously marks the film as political fantasy. It is nice, though, that
the eventual conflict between the couple doesn’t arise because of her devotion
to her career, and Fred never blinks at taking on the role of supportive
partner.
There’s also room for a number of scene-stealing
performances, namely June Diane Raphael as Charlotte’s closest aide, who’s
excellent at cutting Fred down to size. Bob Odenkirk
is very funny as the doltish current President — whose popularity comes from
having played the Commander-in-Chief over several seasons on a television show,
and whose real aspiration is to break into movies. Also good is Alexander Skarsgรฅrd, playing the sweetly dorky prime minister of
Canada who engages in some pseudo flirtation with Charlotte.
Jonathan Levine, who previously worked with Rogen in “50/50”
and “The Night Before,” has a sure and steady hand as director, and the
screenplay writers Dan Sterling (“The Interview”) and Liz Hannah ( Steven
Spielberg’s “The Post”), use their differing sensibilities and approach to
politics to smart effect.
Charming and witty, “Long Shot” is a comedy that actually has
some things to say about relationships, sexism, government, and the ability to
compromise: a trait, the films argues, that’s as necessary in romance as it is
in politics.
This article appears in May 8-14, 2019.
