Long Shot review

LONG SHOT:

SETH ROGEN AND CHARLIZE THERON ARE SURPRISINGLY CUTE TOGETHER IN A ROM-COM THAT SUCCESSFULLY BALANCES RAUNCHY AND SWEET!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

LIONSGATE

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen in Long Shot

            That’s twice now Charlize Theron (Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tully) stars in a movie released a week after Avengers. Last year we got Tully which was released the week after Avengers: Infinity War and now history has repeated itself with Avengers: Endgame opening last weekend and the new romantic-comedy, Long Shot starring Theron and Seth Rogen (Superbad, This is the End, Sausage Party) being released one week later.

            Directed by frequent collaborator of Rogen, Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies, The Night Before) Long Shot gives the best of both worlds for date night, a warm-hearted, feel-good romantic-comedy and a raunchy, vulgar Seth Rogen comedy, pot jokes and all both at the same time…and surprisingly it works.

            Trying to be both a lovey-dovey rom-com and a raunch-fest can be such a risk with a movie like this, but thanks to the charm of its leads and some very humorous writing everything feels natural and never goes too far to the point of having an identity crisis. I came into this movie relatively blind and ended up laughing and having a very fun time.

            The film follows Fred Flarsky (Rogen), an unemployed but gifted journalist with an affinity for trouble who unexpectedly reconnects with his childhood crush Charlotte Field (Theron) who has now become one of the most powerful and influential women of all time, the Secretary of State for the United States and is running for president. 

            After Fred charms her with his self-deprecating humor and memories of her youthful idealism, Charlotte hires him to be her speechwriter for her presidential campaign much to the dismay of her advisors. Fred is unprepared for Charlotte’s glamorous lifestyle and these two people have practically nothing in common aside from the fact that Charlotte used to babysit Fred when he was like twelve or thirteen, but sparks start flying and as Fred and Charlotte start spending more time together a round-the-world romance starts to unfold and this unlikely partnership could be something more than just business.

             The film also stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Ingrid Goes West, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) as Lance, Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Planet of the Apes (2011 trilogy), Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Parker Wembley, June Diane Raphael (NTSF:SD:SUV, Grace and Frankie, The Disaster Artist) as Maggie Millikin, Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, The Post, Incredibles 2) as President Chambers, Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Zoolander 1 and 2, Big Little Lies) as James Steward, Ravi Patel (Scrubs, Grandfathered, American Housewife) as Tom, Randall Park (The Interview, Fresh Off the Boat, Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Flarsky’s boss, James Saito (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance, Iron Fist) as Minister Kishido, professional wrestler Randy Orton (That’s What I Am, 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded, The Condemned 2) as Jimmy P., and Lisa Kudrow (Mad About You, Friends, Neighbors 1 and 2) as Katherine. 

            Overall, Long Shot is just as heartfelt as it is witty and one of Seth Rogen’s more restrained outings. There’s no sausage on bun action, Kim Jong-un defecating himself, or giant demons getting their dongs sliced off by a beam of light, though there is a handful of his trademark humor in here, but it never feels out of place.

            The Seth Rogen style of comedy isn’t played up as much as something like This is the End or Sausage Party but more along the lines of films like Knocked Up or 50/50 where it’s blended with some heart and drama. I have to give this movie serious props for not going right into the obvious Seth Rogen joke related to a certain substance the actor is best known for using in most of his movies, they played that card at just the right moment even though I kind of saw it coming I was still laughing.

            Granted, not every joke in the movie lands, in fact there is a particular gag involving Rogen that while humorous went on a bit too long. Let’s just say “stuff” happened while he was watching a video of Theron giving a speech on his computer and it was…a tad predictable and felt more like something Randy Marsh would do on South Park or Will Ferrell in Step Brothers rather than Seth Rogen, luckily it doesn’t ruin the movie. 

            Let’s talk about Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen for a moment…they are absolutely adorable in this movie and I’m dead serious. I have no idea how they made a couple like that work, but I believed all throughout the movie that they were in love and the two leads have very romantic chemistry together while also getting into wacky shenanigans along the way.

            Long Shot is a feel-good movie in all the right ways and never becomes too mushy or too raunchy to enjoy, Levine finds a perfect balance between the two and Rogen and Theron shine as an unexpectedly cute on-screen couple. It’s a “Shot” worth taking after all the Avengers emotions we’ve had over the past weekend…plus I needed a review to put in between Avengers: Endgame and my upcoming review of UglyDolls because reviewing UglyDolls immediately after Endgame would be a crime against humanity, but that’s for another day.