Fly Me to the Moon

Apple's romantic dramedy about the Apollo 11 mission is a loosey-goosey charmer, with Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum as agreeable antagonists destined to become smoochers.

“Fly Me to the Moon” is a loosey-goosey charmer, a light, jazzy riff that doesn’t seem like it has a plan but somehow winds up in a warm and happy place.

It’s a romantic comedy (with dramatic elements) about the Apollo 11 mission, and specifically the much-rumored mythology about the whole thing being staged for the television cameras. Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum play antagonists, he the straight-shooter launch director in charge of the mission and her the flim-flam advertising whiz brought in from New York City to sell it to the American people.

They’ll butt heads, but in that breezy romcom way where you just know they’re going to wind up smoochers.

Tatum plays Cole Davis, head of the NASA Apollo missions and a former Korean War flying ace who himself was dumped from the astronaut program for a bad ticker. He still feels a lot of remorse over the infamous deaths of three of his comrades in the Apollo I mission, and rides his team of hornrim-wearing, white-shirted eggheads harder than he needs to.

Johannsson is Kelly Jones, a “Mad Men” archetype who could sell ice to Eskimos, or at least convince Ford that the most attractive feature of the new 1969 Mustang is the seat belts. (Narrator: it’s not.)

She gets recruited by Moe Berkus, a shadowy G-man type who claims to work for the U.S. President, to work with NASA on behalf of Apollo. It seems the American people have become glum about the space race, especially after a series of setbacks that have put them far behind the Rooskies. And members of Congress are wavering on continued funding for the Apollo program.

There’s also a pledge from Moe to wipe away the records of Kelly’s dark past, which apparently includes several name changes and even some brushes with the law.

She comes into Cocoa Beach, Fla., with guns blazing, slathering on the charm and sex appeal, with her wingwoman assistant, Ruby (Anna Garcia) as her confidant and only true friend. She makes deals for sponsorships for wristwatches and Tang, butters up some reluctant senators and even swaps in actors for television interviews with some of the less telegenic NASA nerds, which is to say all of them.

Johansson and Tatum are dolled up in authentic period costumes and hairdos, though she really gets a chance to shine in super-saturated colors and neon makeup. It’s crazy to think that Johansson, who has seemingly been a movie star for forever, isn’t even 40 yet.

There’s a very nice supporting cast that knows how to add color around the edges while keeping the spotlight on the stars. I especially appreciated Ray Romano as Henry Smalls, Cole’s best (only?) friend and chief lieutenant. The comedian has become a really lovely actor, especially in supporting parts with a twinge of pathos.

There are some serious moments in “Moon,” but it’s mostly for show as we concentrate on the laughs and delayed-gratification romance. Director Greg Berlanti did the terrific, virtually unseen “Love, Simon” from a few years back. The original screenplay is by Rose Gilroy, from a story credited to Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn.

The tone is fun and light, though the patchwork pacing could use some judicious paring, with a two-and-a-quarter runtime that seems indulgent. I get the sense Apple Studios original intended this film for its streaming channel, and decided late on including a theatrical run.

I’m glad; it’s a great-looking flick that deserves to be on a big screen.

Things really get hairy in the last half of the movie as Moe turns up insisting on staging a fake version of the moon landing on a soundstage, just in case the real thing doesn’t come across looking so hot. This contingency plan, dubbed Project Artemis, soon turns into the main show, and it turns into a bit of a heist movie as they work to swap in the real Apollo footage instead of the faked stuff.

Cole’s a firm truth-teller type, which naturally puts him in conflict with Kelly’s fake-it M.O., which includes adopting a Georgia accent at the drop of a hat or spinning out a stream of white lies… and some not so alabaster.

But we know where this is it’s going to wind up, and it does. And Tatum/Johansson make for a sexy, adventuresome pairing, such as when he takes her on a beautiful flight in his personal airplane.

“Fly Me to the Moon” won’t blast you into orbit with an incredible sense of originality. But it’s got style and charm, and feeds you a line of B.S. you’re happy to swallow.