One down-on-her-luck American journalist experiences a vast change in living culture, in Paramount Pictures “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”. Based on the novel of journalist Kim Barker’s wartime memoir, “The Taliban Shuffle.” The story recounts Barker’s experiences covering conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2002, during a post 9/11 world still searching for answers. Kim meets Tanya (Margot Robbie), an American citizen herself who has found a second life in the middle east after a rough past in her homeland. Through one embarassing tribulation after another, Kim is on the cusp of a breaking news story that could bring everything together. While serving as a dark comedy, the film’s prime focus is on female relations and the lack of femininity in a land where the thought of it is forbidden. Rounding out an A-list cast is Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfred Molina. “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” is rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content, drug use and violent war images.
Tina Fey ventures into territory that feels foreign (No pun intended) to the kind of raunchy over-the-top humor that she is used to. For a second in the film’s opening minutes, you feel like that is very much this movie, filled with lots of R-rated humor that at times feels a little out of place. Where “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” moves off the paved path is with a screenplay that totally exposes the trailer for being one of the biggest mishaps of the early 2016 film year. If after watching the trailer you are excited to see this film to witness Tina Fey once again doing a number on your ribcage from endless laughing, you are in for quite a disappointment. This film will definitely split the Tina Fey fan camp in half, and I find myself (Surprisingly) for once on the positive side of that scenario. “WTF” backs away from its stereotypical and predictable premise, and gives the viewers at home many movies for the price of one.
On the latter part of that last paragraph, the film does feel a little convoluted, often times riding a rollercoaster of scenes that while they don’t mix well as a finished product, are executed entertainingly to brilliant results on a case by case basis. The film is very much a comedy during the first act, when we get a lot of foreign satire to attract the typical Fey audience, but where its smart is what the film does next. The movie has to be rated R for a reason, and it certainly displays a lot of brutal violence during action sequences that feel fresh out of a Kathryn Bigelow movie. It was very eye-opening to this critic to put a comedic actress in this situation and watch her thrive. About halfway through the movie, the screenplay blossoms to a rom-com when one character surprisingly wins the heart of Fey’s character. It was in this aspect of the story where the film won me back over from a disappointingly dull second act. The most powerful message that I took from this film is that if you live somewhere long enough, you become that place. These rebellious acts become second-hand nature to Fey’s pampered American lifestyle, and her transformation drives home that lesson. The final setup for the film’s climax is a little testing on the limits of believability, and I only wish they would’ve went a more logical road with the kind of things this reporter could actually be capable of.
I mentioned already how Tina Fey shines while peeling back another layer of her actor bravado. After the disappointment that was last year’s “Sisters”, Fey proves that she is once again a smart person’s comic, but can play against stereotype when needed. As Baker, Fey was born for this kind of role as a reporter. After nearly a decade on Saturday Night Live as a Weekend Update anchor, she presents an authentic presentation for what a reporter does under these TV moments. I found myself easily getting lost in the fact that Fey could possibly have been a credited member of the media for years, and not even question it for a minute. Martin Freeman is also quirkingly pleasant as a Scottish man with a bit of a swinger attitude. When we are first introduced to his character, we worry on his less than classy morals, but Freeman wins us over once again with an on-screen charisma second to none in Europe. The chemistry with he and Fey is absolutely delightful, and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing a full romantic comedy between them. Margot Robbie is kind of lost in the shuffle, and a layer of her storyline is left unanswered in the wishwash of an ever-changing script.
Overall, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” is full of WTF moments, but they serve more as pleasant surprises for the audience who was expecting something less from it’s misleading trailer. The film does drag a little in the middle, and if they could’ve trimmed this area down by twenty minutes, the film could’ve prospered a little more leading into a final act opposition that puts the lives of many characters at stake. It’s an uneven, but positive wartime mellow drama that easily passes as an acceptable time passer
6/10