On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched on a mission to land on the Moon and then return to Earth. On July 20, the lunar module touched down in the Sea of Tranquility. Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface. Buzz Aldrin was the second. This event was the culmination of President John F. Kennedy's push to beat the Soviet Union in what was dubbed the "Space Race." On July 21, a video transmission from a camera attached to the lunar module broadcast live on television for the whole world to see this incredible event.
Unfortunately, ever since that event, there have been various conspiracy theories that claim that the Apollo program and specifically the Moon landing was a hoax and the video transmission was faked. This film, directed by Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon and The Broken Hearts Club), is the best of both worlds. It imagines what would've been needed or involved to pull off such a hoax and how such a fake transmission of that magnitude could've been executed. Yet, Berlanti and the script by Rose Gilroy incorporates that story within a satirical, romantic comedy that examines the utility of hoaxes and fakes, as well as the value of truth and honesty.
Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers and Lost in Translation) stars as Kelly Jones, the creative director at an advertising agency in New York City in 1968. She is an expert at hoaxes and fakes. She implements hoaxes on a regular basis. She does so to manipulate her clients. She weaves stories in order to appeal or to charm people. She can also be somewhat of a chameleon where she can change her appearance or her accent to adapt to whatever person who is her target. In other words, she's an actress. Her character could be a metaphor for being such a performer, especially a female one in a male-dominated profession.
The film could be showing how her hoaxes are a way of survival in such a patriarchy or an environment that's sexist and dismisses women in general. At the end of the day, she is lying or perpetrating falsehoods. This film doesn't want to let this idea soar without some drawback. However, the script is fun in how it allows for Johansson's character to run with her lies, like an actress doing improvisation, improv that is well researched. It doesn't have the icky nature that Glenn Powell had to handle in Hit Man (2024), which was another recent film that could be seen as a metaphor for acting.
Channing Tatum (Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street) co-stars as Cole Davis, a Korean War veteran who works for NASA as the launch director at the Kennedy Space Center in central Florida. He has been involved with the Apollo program, presumably since it began. He recalls the tragic events of Apollo 1 in 1967 when three astronauts died and he witnessed it. That incident haunts him and he doesn't want anything like that to happen again. He also doesn't want someone like Kelly making a mockery of what NASA does.
At first, it's about Kelly wanting to commercialize NASA and use all kinds of marketing tactics to raise NASA's profile, which will bring more attention and money to the project. When politics are introduced, Kelly's hoaxes and fakes benefit Cole, so he sees how helpful they can be, but through bolder and even subtler ways, he also shows her how truth and honesty can be equally if not more beneficial.
There's a really incredible supporting cast and the film does a good job of giving them moments to shine. Clearly, Berlanti favors Jim Rash (Community and The Descendants) who plays Lance Vespertine, a diva of a film director who Kelly hires to help fake the Moon landing. He's gay and he gets a lot of funny one-liners. He easily steals all the scenes he's in. Woody Harrelson (Venom and The Hunger Games) also is favored here, as he plays Moe Berkus, the White House operative or deep state government official who comes up with the idea to fake the Moon landing. He gets to be charming while also menacing in a very slick way.
This film is very well written and has great, comedic dialogue that moves it along. Berlanti's direction is bubbly, which helps the humorous pacing that never feels like it drags. Of course, it's buoyed with good banter between Johansson and Tatum with Johansson really keeping things bouncing. Tatum scored with his previous rom-com, The Lost City (2022). He got more comedic things to do, meaning show off his charm and sex appeal. Tatum's character here is more strait-laced and rigid, so maybe not as fun or as attractive.
Ray Romano (The Big Sick and Everybody Loves Raymond) rounds out the cast as Henry Smalls, the deputy launch director. He's a bit of a redundant character next to Cole. He's there as a person to whom Cole can talk about his frustration about Kelly. Henry also contrasts as an aging official at NASA who is more of a family man than the military man that Cole is. Finally, shout-out to Donald Elise Watkins (Emergency and The Underground Railroad) as Stu Bryce, seemingly the only African American on the team and Bill Barrett (The Oval and First Wives Club) who only has one scene as an actor impersonating Cole but even he was memorable.
Rated PG-13 for some strong language and smoking.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 12 mins.
In theaters.