Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

One of the reasons that I write reviews of movies is that I hope to turn people on to good movies that might otherwise fly under their radar.

Such is my hope with Tina Fey's latest film WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT - a satirical view of the conflict in Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of a novice International reporter (Fey). What starts out as a funny and corny "fish out of water" movie, slowly morphs into a more serious film about the addictive nature of constantly being in a warzone situation.

Fey is perfectly cast as the central character - war correspondent Kim Baker - who heads to an overseas assignment in Afghanistan to escape a rather humdrum life. I was a little nervous, at first, as all the funny parts that were in the trailer were in the first 1/2 hour of this film - and Fey handles those with aplomb. She is a gifted comedienne, so these scenes looked effortless for her. It is her transition to a more serious reporter, addicted to the adrenaline of her job that Fey really shines. I was impressed with her serious work in THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU and was anxious when it looked like her career regressed with last December's SISTERS, but I'm happy to say she continues to grow as an actress and she is strong in this part.

But, this movie is more than just Fey. She has a very strong supporting cast around her - Martin Freeman as an Irish photographer, Margot Robbie (who continues to grow as an actress) as a friend/journalist competitor to Fey, Alfred Molina as an Afghanistan politician and newcomer (at least to me) Christoper Abbott as Fey's interpreter - they all bring something interesting to the table that helps this movie along.

Special mention should be made of Billy Bob Thornton's General Hollander - the US Commander in the region. While he does not have many scenes in the movie, he brings a presence that is heads and shoulders above everyone else when he is on screen. This fits well in this movie, for the Commanding General in that region should be heads and shoulders above the rest. He also gave me the best laugh in this movie (a joke I will not spoil here).

This movie is much, much more than a simple rom-com or military comedy, it is a Comedy/Drama that brings quite a bit of heart to it. I would strongly encourage you to seek this one out, you'll be glad you did.

8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to Bank (of Marquis)

Wow. If I wasn't already a fan of Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey, I sure am now. The same barbed wit is evident throughout Whiskey, Tengo Foxtrot (military acronym for What the F***), but this isn't a skit. Tina Fey portrays a nuanced character, a low level employee of a network news department who makes an impulsive career move and ends up as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. Doesn't sound entertaining? It probably wouldn't be without the amazing touch Fey puts on her character. While it's not a war movie, it certainly captures the hopelessness of a culture doomed to perpetual war in the arm pit of the world. Afghanistan ultimately gets dismissed as a place undeserving of American military support, or even interest. The people shoot each other and blow each other up in conflict over interpretations of their medieval religion, and the movie correctly concludes "who cares"? But the Americans and individual Afghanis touch each others lives in ways that transcend cynicism. Fey and her Saturday Night Live co-producer Lorne Michaels find humor and humanity in ways that make you root for all the characters. The movie has no dull moments, and the pacing keeps you in your seat. Like Afghanistan itself, there were potential landmines of preachiness, boring politics and hopelessness...and WTF avoids them all. There are subtle, brilliant, and stereotype breaking supporting roles by Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, (Spiderman 2), Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street) and Martin Freeman (whose correspondent character is as far from Bilbo Baggins as Kabul is from New York.) Three cheers for Tina Fey, who manages to give us entertainment and a smile while showing us how lucky we are to be Americans. WTF could have been boring and preachy, and instead gives us a feel good movie from the most unlikely place on earth.

I went to a screening of WTF, and really just went because it was a free night out away from stress. But I'd have happily paid for this movie. It was well written, the music was spot on (and, for me, music makes or breaks a movie). It's also not a chick flick as I thought. I hope that people will see this movie, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. Frankly, I'm shocked at the low metascore. It deserved much better. Maybe it's one of those "sleeper" movies.

There were plenty of belly laughs, but also drama and action. This movie felt real, and not just because it was based on a true story, but because of the acting, dialog, writing, and heck probably all the aspects of movie making. This isn't a farce, or silly slapstick, I guess I'd call it a dramedy. Or even a drama with a lot of funny moments.

I don't think I've ever seen Tina Fey do such a great job in a dramatic role, and Martin Freeman was equally engaging. Even many of the smaller roles were done so well that you felt attached to the characters.

Again, I wasn't expecting to like the movie, I just wanted a worn-out-mom's-night-out. But what a nice surprise, I did enjoy it! And I think my husband would have also found it as good as I did.

This movie is good. Go see it.

A real gem of a film that you shouldn't miss. I saw the trailer and immediately felt the need to see though I had my reservations about Tina Fey in a black comedy/drama film. Guess what! Tina surprised me with her performance (not acting-wise, but presence-wise). I know this doesn't make any sense, but picture an actress shining in a movie without an over the top performance, not an easy job to do. Whether Tina has grown to be great at many genres OR the movie was simply destined for her real life character.

The story-telling and events flow like nobody's business and the representation of Afghan People in the movie is beyond great. The movie balances between realistic approaches and the mainstream Hollywood agendas.

I really recommend this film to all kinds of viewers.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (2016 release; 111 min.) brings the story ("Based on a True Story" we are reminded) of Kim Baker (played by Tina Fay.. As the movie opens, we see Baker in a heated argument with an Afghani man. Then we go "Two Years Earlier", where Baker, looking miserable, is in a team meeting for some news outfit. When told that there is a shortage of TV journalists in Afghanistan, Baker does not hesitate, and she volunteers, supposedly for a three month assignment. Next thing, we see Baker arrive at the Kabul Airport. At this point we are at most 10 minutes into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is the big screen adaptation of the book "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by real-life TV reporter Kim Barker (not sure why in the movie the names becomes "Baker"). The movie is the latest for directing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously brought us "Crazy Stupid Love" and "Focus", among others. Here, they, along with producers Lorne "SNL" Michaels and Tina Fay herself, try to give us a glimpse of what it was like for an inexperienced journalist to come to Afghanistan in 2003 and report on the war. The early past of the movie shows us how Baker is adjusting to her new environment, and what a shock to the system it is indeed. Along the way we get to know fellow journalist Tanya Vanderpoel, (played by up-and-coming Australian actress Margot Robbie who also was in "Focus"). But the movie really takes off in the second hour (no worries, I won't spoil). Incredibly, Google Movie Times bills this as a 'comedy', and IMDb categorizes it as "Comedy, War". Please note: this is NOT a comedy. If you are going to see this, expecting many laugh-out-loud moments as only Tina Fey the comedian can bring them you are going to be sorely disappointed and let down. Sure, there are a few good chuckles early on as Baker/Fey adjusts to life in Afghanistan, but that's it. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is a journalistic war drama, period. Not sure whether it is the producers or the studio who are pushing this as a 'comedy' but that is a grave mistake. Besides Fey and Robbie, there are many other fine performances, including Billy Bob Thornton in a small role as a Marine Corps General. Last but bot least, there is a lot of great music in the film, including the original score, courtesy of Nick "DeVotchKa" Urata, and also a bunch of song placements, such as Radiohead's "Nude", the National's "Green Gloves" and Harry Nillson's "Without You", which I will never listen to the same way again, seeing how it was used in this movie. Bottom line: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is a fine movie, shouldered by Tina Fey NOT being funny.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" was released nationwide this weekend. The Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was not attended well, I am sad to report. Apparently it underperformed elsewhere too, grossing only $7 million, far below expectations. That is a darn shame. I blame both the (intentional or not) mislabeling of this as a 'comedy' when it is nothing near that, and/or fatigue among US audiences on seeing movies about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. Regardless, I enjoyed "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" a lot for what it is (journalistic war drama). If you have a chance to catch this, be it in theaters, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, I strongly encourage you to do so as this movie deserves a bigger audience. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!