Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Movie Review
/DIRECTORS: GLENN FICARRA, JOHN REQUA | STARRING: TINA FEY, MARGOT ROBBIE, MARTIN FREEMAN
RUNTIME: 112 MINUTES | RATING: R | SCORE: 2.5/5
Movie titles themselves can be an art form that can intrigue the casual movie goer into asking the box-office attendant, "Two tickets for So and So: The Movie please!" And, with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, that just may be the case using military terms that aren't mentioned in the movie, but rather are the perfect abbreviation for the hashtag: #WTF.
Tina Fey plays the regular archetype she's known for just in a more serious setting: Afghanistan. Based on the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker -- Here named Baker because of a typo? Not sure. -- we see Fey go off to the Middle East as a war correspondant leaving behind what she considers a dull simple life.
THE GOOD:
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a film that is definitely more geared for women. We see it from the focus of oppression of said gender in this region of the world to the "I don't need no man" attitude that her co-stars Margot Robbie and Sheila Vand preach to her throughout her stay. The film aims to show you a woman who can make it on her own and break out of the dull routine she found herself fall into back home.
Christopher Abbott plays Fahim, Baker's translator and our insider to the culture we're seeing on screen. Their friendship grows as they teach each other different perspectives -- Baker gives Fahim an O Magazine while Fahim tries his hardest to make sure Baker doesn't get them all killed while touring. We also see her relationship with a Scottish photographer named Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman) flourish as they both aim to capture the next big story to send back home. Freeman does an incredible job of diminishing any characteristics we've seen from his other roles such as Watson or Bilbo instead becoming the catalyst for the film when it starts to become dull.
There are self-reflective lines that really stand out within the film such as the exercise bike metaphor and how we give to those in need, but it's the delivery that doesn't make them as riveting as the writers hope to. None the less, it's an easy to follow story where you're relatively are rooting for the main character.
THE BAD:
What the movie struggles with the most is how it balances its comedy. It tries to be a satire, but it's also based off of a true story where unfortunate events are occurring. It tries to be respectful of the culture overseas while at the same time ridiculing the things they do differently. About half of the movie observes the "after hours" of their duties as they party and at times get so drunk they end up in perilous situations. While it's interesting to see how these reporters "let loose", the way the movie handles some of these transitions between their work hours and party hours is poorly executed.
Between the characters, you have those that bring an interesting dynamic to Bakers journey but others which are there for poor comedic effect. Alfred Molina whose role is that of an Islamic Ambassador is portrayed more cartoonish than his role of Dr. Octopus in Spider-Man 2. Margot Robbie plays the 14 out of 10 news reporter, Tanya Vanderpoel, who is gorgeous, but that doesn't distract from the fact that she's practically mimicking Rebel Wilson's role from How to Be Single.
What the movie suffers from the most is ironically a disconnection that gets brought up within the film itself. In the latter half of the film, Baker confronts her boss (Cherry Jones) who tells her straight up that Americans aren't interested in looking at soldiers become casualties overseas. And while a female character being put into a less-than-fortunate scenario isn't a basis for disliking a film -- see the Oscar-winning Room -- wanting the audience to connect with the character wanting to be there is. For an hour and a half, we see Baker believe that she's in a better place than she was before, ignoring the gunfire that goes off at 2 AM outside of her hostel.
We know it's not a suitable place to live, but the movie pretends it is until the final 15 minutes.
By the end credits, I would say it's an enjoyable film that can't quite handle the mixture of comedy and drama, but is entertaining enough to be watched if you RENT IT.
