When Fred Flarsky reunites with his first crush, one of the most influential women in the world, Charlotte Field, he charms her. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.
From writers, Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah comes “Long Shot,” a comedy directed by Jonathan Levine and starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. The story centers on Charlotte Field, the youngest Secretary of State in U.S. history. Seth Rogen co-stars as Fred Flarsky, the most unlikely of love interests.
Field secretly covets the oval office, which coincides well when her boss, President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), delivers the surprise news he will not run for a second term. A former television actor, Chambers wants to make the transition to the big screen – a development that furnishes fodder for several comic exchanges later.
Flarsky represents the kind of journalist now an increasingly rare breed – candid, irreverent, funny, and most of all, willing to dig below the surface level hype. Such an approach stands in sharp contrast to the modern-day news media, driven by a bent toward entertainment instead of true journalism. Given that Liz Hannah co-wrote the screenplay for “The Post,” the complementary elements on display in “Long Shot” are no accident.
After media mogul Parker Wembley (Andy Serkis) buys the independent newspaper The Advocate, Flarsky sees the writing on the wall and quits. Unemployed, fate intervenes when Field recognizes the kid she used to babysit years ago. She hires Flarsky to insert witty quips into her speeches and a romance develops in due course.
O’Shea Jackson, Jr. plays Lance, Flarsky’s best friend and self-help guru of near Tony Robbins proportions who also hides an interesting and unexpected secret. Andy Serkis does a nice turn as Parker Wembley, a thinly-veiled stand-in for Rupert Murdoch. His Wembley News channel, with its overtly sexist anchors, serves up a dead ringer for Fox News.
Another character that hints at real life is Bob Odenkirk as President Chambers, whose obsession with film and television resembles the current occupant of the White House all too closely. Alexander Skarsgård, Ravi Patel, Lisa Kudrow, and Randall Park deliver serviceable performances as well.
While one might get the sense that this is a lightweight effort, “Long Shot” has more than a little on its mind. For perhaps the same reason, attempts at humor are all over the board. Some stick, others don’t. If you see the movie with a friend, you might learn something about them, depending on which parts they find funny.
The theme revolves around the nature of public policy compromise. In light of the growing ideological divides rampant across the U.S., the issues are timely and relevant. Along the campaign trail, Field must decide whether to sell out at least some of her beliefs in order to attain the presidency, or remain steadfast by retaining her integrity, and risk consignment to the political wasteland as a result.
Similar to her previous efforts, Charlize Theron demonstrates versatility and poise with challenging material. She exhibits steely calm as Secretary of State, empathetic tenderness as Flarsky’s love interest, and spaced out kookiness while stoned, leading her to take on a hawkish general in the midst of a hostage crisis.
Though Rogen’s role often appears recklessly manic to the point of irritation, this gives the rest of the cast the opportunity to play off him as straight men. Their reaction shots constitute some of the best moments in the film. In particular, June Diane Raphael as Theron’s chief of staff rarely breaks her stiff-necked composure – despite the incessant inanities from Rogen’s Flarsky – to hilarious effect.
“Long Shot” covers a lot of ground as it deals out political satire, combined with coarse humor, blended with full-on slapstick. Although not every scene hits its mark, enough of them land to make the outing worthwhile.
In theaters Friday, May 3rd
