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WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT (review)

Review by Benn Robbins
Produced by Ian Bryce, Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels
Screenplay by Robert Carlock
Based on The Taliban Shuffle by Kim Barker
Directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman,
Alfred Molina, Christopher Abbott, Billy Bob Thornton

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was literally written for Tina Fey.

Based on Kim Barker’s autobiographical book The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF) tells the story, of the desk-jockey Barker, who leaves her job writing news anchor copy for a major news channel, to become a rookie journalist in Kabul during the war in Afghanistan.

In a review of the book by the New York Times she is described as, “a sort of Tina Fey character, who unexpectedly finds herself addicted to the adrenaline rush of war.”

So it was apropos that Ms. Fey, herself, portray her.

And she is perfect.

This “Hollywood-ization” of Barker’s sort of mid-life crisis perfectly balances the drama and hell of war with the absurdity of a woman jumping into the fray of war-torn Middle East all because she was fed up with her job, life and boyfriend even though she has no field reporting background, or war zone experience.

As Barker, Fey utilizes her years of comedic experience to give the journalist the nuanced humor and satirical bite she is known for, but also draws from her knowledge of drama and tension to add the realism the role needed to sell the stress and overwhelm the war correspondents felt while there.

I think what I like best about the film was the subtlety and care the filmmakers took in not going too far with making all the characters, especially the secondary and background ones, caricatures. They had depth to them and weren’t just “the jokester”, the douchebag”, “the bad guy”, “the love interest”.

Everyone had a dimension to them that you wouldn’t normally expect from a more comedic take on such a serious subject.

This film is not a straight up comedy so don’t go in thinking it will be a guffaw a minute.

This is a solid satire of a very serious subject focusing on a very sarcastic and driven woman looking to do something with her life. The drama is well thought out and paced and the humor serves as a release to all the uneasiness surrounding the war itself. The crowd I saw it with was expecting a SNL movie and they were all bitterly disappointed.

I got what I expected from a film starring Tina Fey.

A smart, funny and sometimes sobering look at the horrors of war and the horrors of life and how both make us do irresponsible and a lot of times rewarding things. People get hurt, people die. People laugh and people shrug off things that would otherwise break another’s spirit. Life is what happens while you are trying to figure out what you are doing with yours. Kim Barker’s was and is extraordinary. The film is a great reminder of it.

Overall I would say that I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would see it again. I am a huge fan of Fey’s but I wouldn’t say that I have loved everything she has done. This, however, is a really good film that I highly recommend.

I would be remiss if i didn’t mention the stellar performances by Billy Bob Thorton as the Colonel Walter Hollanek, USMC. He proves again why he is one of the best actors out there. Margot Robbie is perfect as friend and rival reporter, Tanya Vanderpoel. Martin Freeman is wonderful as Scottish, Iain MacKelpie. Alfred Molina is almost unrecognizable as the possibly corrupt definitely weird as Afghanistan’s up and coming political hopeful, Ali Massoud Sadiq. Christopher Abbott is effortlessly brilliant as Barker’s driver and conscience, Fahim Ahmadzai. The rest of the cast that round out the soldiers, denizens and populace of the area are all well written and acted and help in making this a solid time at the theater.

If you are looking for a good time and a solid film to see this weekend go with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

I mean WTF, right?

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