Romantic comedy and high politics have already met many times in American films. Americans (and not just Americans) are fascinated by the White House. The Oval Office is probably the most filmed and recreated room in the history of American cinema, and around the presidency and the people who surround the inhabitants of the White House films have been made in all genres of cinema: historical and action films, thrillers and horror films, romanticized biographies and anticipatory films, feature films and television series, comedies of all kinds and of course romantic comedies. During the 90’s the genre of ‘romantic comedies at the White House’ was very popular, ‘Dave’ and ‘The American President’ are the two titles that come to mind first. ‘Long Shot‘ made in 2019 by Jonathan Levine therefore falls into a well-rooted tradition, even if the US president himself is a secondary character, the main character (or half of the romantic couple at the center of the action) being the secretary (Madam Secretary!) of state . The fact that the main role is played by Charlize Theron was reason enough to make me not miss the opportunity to see the film.
The romantic comedy part is what works reasonably well. Fred Flarsky is an investigative journalist, ready to take the risks of going undercover in right-wing extremist networks or resigning from the newspaper that publishes his articles when it is bought by a corrupt conservative tycoon. He is in a rather difficult phase of his life, unemployed among other things, when he meets again, after 25 years, Charlotte Field, his former baby-sitter and the female idol of his adolescence, who has meanwhile become secretary of state and is aspiring to run for president of the United States. An unlikely romance begins between the two, which begins with Fred’s employment as a press and image consultant and ends where the ‘good-feeling’ romantic comedies end.
I confess that I am as fascinated by Charlize Theron as the hero of the film. She is also a very good actress, she has proved it in many other films. Here she must be especially radiantly beautiful, and she is. Seth Rogen doesn’t convince me, I know he’s considered very funny, to me he only makes me smile and not always. I didn’t think that the romantic story between the two works great, but, let’s say. Romantic comedies have their rules, and princes sometimes look like frogs. What is completely implausible in the film is the political part. The writers of the script and the director Jonathan Levine did not want to go too far with the political satire, and they also missed the opportunity to say something more meaningful about the difficult path of women in politics. The pretext is so fragile and the characters are so far from the realities of 2019 or 2022 that in the end it shadows and the romantic and comic parts as well. It almost strikes me that this lack of authenticity is intentional, with ‘Long Shot‘ trying to be pure escapism with a political pretext. The most authentic moment of the film seemed to me when Fred discovers that his best friend (excellent supporting role for O’Shea Jackson Jr.) is a Republican, that is, on the other side of the political divide. Their friendship survives. Be that as it may, the film is passable as a romantic comedy, good to be scheduled and watched during the holidays, but the genuine political satire with stakes must be looked elsewhere entirely. As a Charlize Theron fan, however, I was thoroughly satisfied.