Long Shot (Review)
Long Shot is One of the Best Romantic Comedies in Years.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of romantic comedies. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of diamonds in the rough when it comes to the genre. However, for the most part, they are fairy tale fluff where a woman finds happiness only when a guy comes along to sweep her off her feet. Long Shot though is a film that kicks this outdated notion to the curb and embraces the fact that the world is thankfully becoming a very different place than it once was. Because of that, it was easy to fall head over heels for it.
Most romantic comedies feature a woman who is trying to get her life together, but no matter how successful she is just can’t shake the notion that something’s missing until she meets prince charming. It’s a terrible cliche that perpetuates the stereotype that a woman needs a man in order to feel complete. Long Shot dashes that notion entirely by casting one of Hollywood’s most badass leading ladies Charlize Theron. While she’s earned a reputation for playing tough as nails women who can kick ass with the best of them, this time around she’s playing a different kind of awe-inspiring. In Long Shot she plays Secretary of State Charlotte Field who has become a presidential hopeful thanks to her incredible resume. Charlotte is the very definition of a strong and empowered woman. She’s smart, determined, and an incredibly hard worker putting in grueling hours to help change the world. Oh, and she manages to make it all look pretty easy with her elegance and sophistication. She is nothing short of inspiring.
Opposite of her is Seth Rogen who has built a legacy on playing the hapless underdog. In Long Shot, he’s Fred Flarsky an idealistic journalist who can’t abide social injustice. He’s the kind of guy who would cut off his nose to spite his face just to stand up for his ideals. It might seem like an admirable trait on paper but it’s resulted in his life becoming a disheveled mess and left him a perpetual man child. On paper, he seems like the exact opposite of Charlotte. She’s one of the most successful women in the world poised to become the most powerful person on the planet, and he’s… Well, Seth Rogen. It seems like the kind of match that would only be possible in a romantic comedy, yet their relationship works perfectly on screen.
Long Shot is absolutely hilarious. It’s filled with plenty of memorable, side-splitting moments that will leave you in stitches. More importantly, it’s consistently funny throughout. I found myself laughing every few minutes and never getting tired of it because Long Shot uses such a wide variety of humor. There are plenty of stoner jokes (this is a Seth Rogen movie after all), but it’s also filled with plenty of puns, awkward moments, and plenty of flirtatious banter. There isn’t a single joke that falls flat in the film. A lot of the credit for Long Shot’s success goes to director Jonathan Levine and writers Liz Hannah and Dan Sterling, who manage to craft an intimate, yet uproarious, look at a modern relationship. However, all of their efforts would have been for not if it wasn’t for the chemistry between Rogen and Theron.
One of the running jokes in Long Shot is that Theron’s Charlotte seems way out of Flarsky’s league. After all, she has dinner with diplomats and brokers world changing deals, and he wears windbreaks while drinking tequila out of a ziplock bag he keeps in his freezer. To the discerning eye, there’s no way that this relationship could possibly work. In fact, more than a few characters point this out to Flarsky to the point where he has to fall back on using the affirmation “I deserve love” to keep himself from falling apart. However, the romance that blossoms between the two characters over the course of the film is beautiful. The two come together in such an innocent way and build steadily over the course of the film. Rogen’s character falls for Theron’s because, well, she’s perfect for one, but because he knew her before she became the Secretary of State and has had a huge crush ever since. Theron’s character falls for Rogen’s because he expresses interest in who she is as a person and not a politician, isn’t threatened by a woman with power, and makes her laugh consistently. Theron and Rogen work beautifully together and despite the seemingly insurmountable differences between them, there isn’t a moment where I didn’t buy into their on-screen chemistry.
Long Shot just might be one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time. It manages to do everything right thanks to the incredible talent both on and off the screen. Despite being filled with plenty of crude jokes about sex and drug use, at its heart, it’s a sweet tale about loving blossoming in even the most unexpected places. Of course, it’s the perfect date movie, but even those without a romantic partner will find joy in this film. Long Shot is a movie that will have you rooting wholeheartedly for the leads and leave you with a smile on your face. I was expecting to enjoy this movie, but I ended up loving it.
