July 30, 2019
Long Shot
Michael Cox READ TIME: 2 MIN.
When you look at the headliners of "Long Shot," you inevitably scratch your head. Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen? Why? Why would a breathtaking, Academy Award-winning actress do a movie with "that guy" – a one-note comedian who's known for his crude, frat-boy humor?
Then this movie takes it one step further. It asks you to believe he's her love interest. Nevertheless, director Jonathan Levine and writers Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah make it work. "Long Shot" is a Cinderella story for all the goofy little boys who dream of being rescued from their dreary existences, for all the dopey men that long for a handsome, powerful woman to sweep them off their feet, and for plain-looking guys that believe this tall, blond and female Prince Charming will take them away to live in a beautiful castle.
In this case, the castle is the White House. Theron plays Secretary of State Charlotte Field, an enormously successful politician with the power to become the U.S. President in the next election. Rogen plays Fred Flarsky, a down on his luck journalist with the power to seduce the presidential hopeful and become her new "Pretty Woman."
How would a couple like this get together in the first place? It's not like they frequent the same circles. But, strangely enough, they used to. She used to be his baby sitter, so she's willing to give him a job as a speechwriter when he gets fired from his newspaper. And Flarsky's laid back, everyman attitude is just what Field needs to appeal to voters.
But will those same voters accept a Flarsky as the new First Lady?
In the end, what makes this romantic comedy so successful is its casting. A perfect example of this is Alexander Skarsg�rd as the tall, blond and beautiful Canadian Prime Minister. In all outward displays, this is the perfect match for the sharply poised Secretary of State, but he comes off as even dopier than Flarsky. This cast keeps you cheering for them every step of the way, and they make you believe the unbelievable.
This Blu-ray contains 11 featurettes, including a substantial behind-the-scenes, making-of documentary that gives real insight into what it took to get this movie made.
"Long Shot"
Blu-ray Combo Pack
$39.97
www.lionsgate.com/