Review by Geoff Jenke
Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is one of the most influential women in the world. Smart, sophisticated, and accomplished, she’s a powerhouse diplomat with a talent for…well, mostly everything. Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a gifted and free-spirited journalist with a self-destructive streak. The two have nothing in common, except that she was his baby sitter and first crush. When Fred unexpectedly reunites with Charlotte, he charms her with his self-deprecating humour and his memories of her youthful idealism. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte impulsively hires Fred as her speechwriter, much to the dismay of her trusted advisors. A fish out of water on Charlotte’s elite team, Fred is unprepared for her glamourous and high stakes lifestyle.
Long Shot is romantic comedy that will shock in places, in a humorous way. People will be talking about certain scenes over coffee at work for weeks to come. Hey, Seth Rogan is in it after all. It is also a “Chick Flick”, as much as I hate to use that phrase, although I, being a male, found myself laughing at many parts.
It is a movie about “opposites attracting”, not with just the lead roles but also supporting roles. It is the women in the movie who have the power, and the men are just happy to go along with it. Nothing wrong that. Seth and Charlize work well together on screen and look out for Bob Odenkirk (Saul from Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul) playing a great President of the United States of America.
There is nothing new here and I had trouble understanding what the movie was trying to achieve. Maybe I missed a few signs along the way. In the end I just decided it was a comedy which was very funny in places, with slapstick humour as well as scripted comedy.
At over 2 hours in length, it outstays its welcome about 1 hour 45 minutes in. The last, predictable, 20 minutes made the movie too long.
However, it was still entertaining and guys, you could do worse than take the love of your life out for a nice dinner and a viewing of this film. You will cringe and you will laugh. You may even find that, like me, you will actually enjoy it.
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