Review by Adam Winn, Staff writer
When audiences hear the name Tina Fey, especially when attached to a new film, they automatically assume it’s going to be a comedy. This time around, however, Fey stars in a film outside her normal comfort zone, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.”
This flick has some comedic elements in it, but it’s essentially more of a dramedy than anything else. While some theatergoers might be wary about investing their time in this type of film, rest assured it’s well worth the ticket price to watch. It caters to nearly all audience members.
The plot is based on a memoir and tells the story of Kim Baker (Fey), a woman who starts off as a scriptwriter for a television news station who accepts a new job as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. The time period is set during the early to mid-’00s when the “War on Terror” was at its peak. Originally planning to only stay three months, she turns her base in Kabul into a sort of permanent home.
After arriving and immediately getting thrown to the wolves as far as her new job is concerned, she instantly develops a friendship with another war journalist, Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie) and a Scottish journalist named Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman). They begin to show Kim what life is like living as a reporter on the opposite side of the world during the middle of a war.
This newfound lifestyle surprisingly involves an abundance of alcohol and partying, which helps the press living there cope with the war in the streets outside the base. As time passes, she begins to turn into an adrenaline junkie and becomes addicted to her life in Afghanistan, finding it difficult to want to go back home and leave the warfront.
One of the great things about this film is its authentic portrayal of what life is like for reporters having to work and cover the war in Afghanistan. Viewers are going to feel like they are getting a behind-the-scenes look at the actual events taking place during the unceasing “Operation Enduring Freedom.”
The acting was nothing short of remarkable. Fey steps completely outside of her typical roles and shows the audience that not only is she a great comedian, but also an established dramatic actress as well.
The cinematography also was impeccable, which added more realism and helped exemplify the mood for the overall story.
One of the film’s faults that viewers are likely to notice was that the plot felt blatantly long and drawn out. The editors could have easily shaved 15 to 20 minutes off of the final runtime, and it would have been just as enjoyable, if not more so.
The film is a near perfect representation of what life would be like if someone were picked up from their normal life in western civilization and dropped into the middle of hostile surroundings. Baker immediately shows the viewer that they have to step outside of their own “safe place” and embrace life’s new changes head on.
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” is not a typical “Tina Fey comedy,” but is, nevertheless, just as good and worthwhile.
that of the teenage-daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) who appears to be an innocent girl trapped in circumstances outside her control. She becomes the scapegoat for her religious family to blame all of the transpiring events going on around them.
As far as horror films go, “The Witch” is subpar at best. The flick has unnerving background music and menacingly, disconsolate scenery that help set the mood, but otherwise the rest is just a letdown.
Critics from sources such as, “Rolling Stone” and the “Washington Post” have given the film positive reviews for being “terrorizing” and “unique.” Nevertheless, just because this so-called “horror” picture is different from the other genre-related films that have been released lately, doesn’t make this particular movie exceptional, especially when compared to classic films, like “Halloween” or “The Shining.”
If the viewer wants to watch a film that has few disturbing moments and some respectable acting performances, then this is a good film to check out. However, if the viewer is expecting to be frightened or looking forward to seeing something truly spell-binding, regrettably the audience