‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Is the Space Race Summer Rom-Com You Didn’t Know You Needed

I know we’re living in an era where many a summer blockbuster are sent straight to streaming platforms, but I love the priority you have to place on seeing a movie that’s only available in the theaters. Case in point: Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum .

There I was on a recent summer Friday, popcorn in hand, my phone switched off and sitting alone in an air conditioned Brooklyn theater. Quite frankly, I’m so nostalgic for the increasing rarity of that experience, which made this nostalgia-filled film and its space race plot the perfect movie to see.

The premise of the movie is this: On the heels of the real-life Apollo 1 disaster, which killed three astronauts in 1967, NASA has a crisis on their hands as they gear up for the real-life Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. Budgets are being cut and American interest is waning due to lack of success in accomplishing President Kennedy’s original vision to beat the Russians to the moon. So, what’s a Nixon-led White House to do? Hire a publicist, of course.

Sony Pictures

Enter Johansson as Kelly Jones, a marketing executive with a shady past. The chance to erase a few errors in judgement with help from the Oval Office (and an often lurking figure, played by Woody Harrelson) is one of the main reasons she takes the job. As it turns out, she’s pretty good at it, too—that is until a request to fake the moon landing causes her efforts to take a dicey turn.

Sony Pictures

I left the theater with plenty to Google—mainly, the fact that this predominantly fictionalized film pokes at the conspiracy theories that ran rampant around the actual moon landing in the 1960s, which saw Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins chart history as they touched down. But I also left with an extended love for Johansson, who absolutely slays as Jones. The New York Times compared her fast-talking dialogue to that of Katharine Hepburn working in tandem with her own Cary Grant-like figure (Tatum, who is leading the Apollo 11 mission). Her 1960s ensembles are also total scene-stealers.

Add to that the cast (I mentioned Harrelson already, but Ray Romano has a stand-out role), the screwball rom-com style plot and the 1960s soundtrack and I was all in. For better or worse, the vibe of the film is Mad Men . (In fact, it made me want to re-watch that entire series.) And the conclusion harkened back to a time when American unity was inspirational—a nice escape in the midst of current political times.

Is it the best-ever summer rom com? There are a few scenes that drag a little, I’ll admit. Still, I laughed, I cried and ultimately felt it was entirely worth the $16 I paid to see it.

Want all the latest entertainment news sent right to your inbox? Click here .

The 70 Best Summer Movies of All Time & Where to Watch Them