'Fly Me to the Moon' never quite lands, but it's still fun to see the stars

As NASA prepares to launch a manned mission to the moon, launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) finds himself saddled with another problem - marketing whizz Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), who has been sent in by shadowy government operative Moe Berkus to help win public support for the program. At first, Jones' plans involve brand partnerships and flashy interviews, but soon the true reason for her presence is revealed to her - she is to help fake the moon landing in case Apollo 11 fails...

Though it looks at a distance like a completely charming, completely forgettable rom-com from the DVD age, 'Fly Me to the Moon' instead feels and acts like it's a $100 million fanfic script for 'Mad Men' that's then been beaten into the shape of a conventional romantic comedy.

Scarlett Johansson plays her advertising guru like she's Peggy Olson with even fewer morals, happily tricking a meeting full of motor executives into thinking she's pregnant before high tailing it out and yakking her way into the next scene. To characterise it in a phrase that is now almost extinct and is almost borderline sexist, she's got a lot of moxy.

By comparison, Channing Tatum is often left in her dust. Sure, they've got chemistry together but so much of it seems to be ScarJo pulling him along than the two of them as equals. Had the original casting of his role occurred, her former Marvel castmate Chris Evans, the thing could have really (pardon the pun) blasted off. Still and all, the supporting cast of characters makes up for this as much as possible. Jim Rash, in full 'Community' spirit, steals every scene he's in as the outrageously demanding director, while Ray Romano's hangdog shabbiness plays nicely off of Channing Tatum's ersatz Captain America vibes.

It's little wonder then that 'Fly Me to the Moon' has gone through a director, losing Jason Bateman for Greg Berlanti, and probably a few rewrites along the way. Though Berlanti's natural inclination to sparkling, light-hearted comedy works to a charm for most of the runtime, the lively pace trips over itself at times by how dense the story is at times. There's already enough to go on with the time period, the clash of personalities between the leads, the snappy dialogue, yet throwing in a third act course-correction of a faked moon landing brings it all crashing down to Earth.

'Fly Me to the Moon' is, oddly enough, the kind of movie one would reasonably enjoy on a plane journey and then memory-hole the second they step into the airport terminal. It's brightly shot and reassuringly familiar, with two leads more than capable of driving a charming romantic comedy around the block and up the road. Ignore the needless plot chicanery and the overbearing sentimentalism and it's a fine time. Does it reach the moon? Was it even aiming for it in the first place?