Long Shot (2019)
The summer movie season is a time of big budget special
effects heavy superhero movies, action movies, sequels, remakes, and reboots,
but, also, a high-profile comedy or two. This summer’s high-profile comedy is the
very R-rated Long Shot starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. This unlikely romantic comedy is as solidly
entertaining and smart as it is funny and raunchy. Movies for grownups don’t
get made too often these days, so when one comes along and it is as good and
funny as this it is a treat. Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, the popular
and successful Secretary of State for idiot President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), who won the election because he used to play the president on TV. The President tells her that he’s
not seeking reelection so he can pursue a film career and he plans to
endorse her for president once she gets a global environmental agreement off the ground.
After
being informed by a PR firm that people find her lacking a sense of humor, Charlotte hires a crusading journalist, Fred Flarsky, played by Seth Rogen, who recently
quit his job because his news outlet was bought up by an unscrupulous conservative
media conglomerate to punch up the humor in her speeches. Fred and Charlotte actually grew up in the same neighborhood
and she was his babysitter who he very much had a crush on. They reconnect at a
fundraiser featuring Boyz II Men where Rogen takes the first of a few slapstick
tumbles. Schlubby Fred is jetted of to Stockholm, the first of many global destinations, bringing nothing with him but a garish windbreaker, awkward tapered
cargo pants, and some illegal narcotics. He’s a fish out of water to say the
least.
Long Shot's screenplay is written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah and
directed by Jonathan Levine. Seth Rogen is only credited as a producer, but any
movie featuring Rogen, whether he wrote it or not, sets up certain comedic
expectations. To be specific, an irreverent, raunchy, juvenile,
foul mouthed, stoner sense of humor. That certainly describes Long Shot’s
comedic sensibility, but its comedy is mostly verbal, though there is one gross
out sight gag that the climax of the film hinges on (so be forewarned about
that). All of the humor, even the gross out gag, is firmly rooted in the
characters, so no joke or gag feels artificially tacked
on for shock value
As Charlotte and Fred spend more and more time together so
he can get to know her better to add more of her personality into her speeches, they begin an unlikely and entirely believable romance. "Long Shot" refers to Charlotte
as a presidential candidate, but it also refers to Fred as a romantic partner
for the beautiful high-profile politician. Rogen and Theron are an unlikely
pair but they have great chemistry. Rogen delivers his signature clever slacker
character and comedic style, but Theron is far and away the star of this
picture. She’s done heavy drama, dark comedy, broad comedy, action, and now
clever, raunchy comedy, and she’s done them all extremely well. Hopefully Long
Shot doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of big budget summer blockbuster
spectacles because it is definitely worth seeking out. This foul mouthed, big
hearted romantic comedy is bound to delight.
