Movie Review: “Long Shot”

By Matt Pascarella

Rated: R

Running time: 125 minutes

Is the unlikely necessarily impossible? That is the underlying question in “Long Shot”, where two individuals with very different lifestyles fall for each other. The movie centers around journalist Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) and Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron). The two meet unexpectedly and it takes off from there.

The movie opens with Flarsky about to be inducted as the newest member of a white supremacist’s group. As initiation begins to progress a little quicker than Flarsky expected, it is discovered he is a journalist. He jumps out the window, falling several stories onto a car and then runs off.

Then we meet the Secretary of State, Charlotte Field, sitting with current United States President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk) who confides in her he will not be seeking reelection. Charlotte says it would mean a lot if President Chambers would endorse her; he agrees. Field expresses an interest in running in 2020 to her team, but the only thing that seems to matter to the people they polled are not Field’s policies, but how she looks doing her job.

Back at Fred’s office, his boss tells him the company has just been bought by a giant media conglomerate and things are going to change. Fred is so disgusted he quits right there on the spot. Fred goes over to his friend Lance’s (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) office and Lance takes Fred to a party that night. Charlotte happens to be at the same party.

Fred is nervous when he first sees Charlotte because she used to babysit him, and he used to have a crush on her. She remembers him and although Fred makes a big scene at the party, Charlotte asks if he would like to work for her, punching up her speeches. He agrees to do so.

Charlotte has embarked on a ‘save the planet’ initiative and will be travelling around the world to try to get countries to join the initiative. One of the first speeches Fred helps her write goes very well and she is impressed. As they spend more time together, Fred and Charlotte get to know each other more and eventually start to fall for one another.

Amidst things going well, President Chambers tells Charlotte she needs to ditch her environmental agenda if she wants his endorsement. Understandably, Charlotte isn’t happy and tells Fred "I don’t want to do this job anymore."

Meanwhile, Charlotte’s assistant, Maggie (June Diane Raphael), tells her that remaining involved with Fred will hurt her campaign. President Chambers and a big media conglomerate then blackmail Charlotte, threatening to expose footage taken from Fred’s webcam.

What will happen to Fred and Charlotte? What will Charlotte decide about her campaign?

Rogen and Theron have real on-screen chemistry. This motley pairing is a recipe for a good comedy. This movie is funny, with a great soundtrack and is, at times, heartwarming. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any fan of Rogen, Theron or anyone just looking for a funny movie.