Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is neither fish nor fowl. Its pace is too slow for an action movie. Tina Fey and Martin Freeman (who plays a Scottish photo-journalist) have great on-screen chemistry, but that romantic comedy potential is never realized. The movie veers from comic moments to serious war footage. Tina Fey plays a reporter in Afghanistan from 2004-2006. Billy Bob Thorton plays a Marine General; he’s not given enough to do. Alfred Molina plays an Afghanistan politician. There’s plenty of Star Power in the cast, but the rambling story doesn’t take advantage of their talents. Tina Fey proves she is more than a comedic actress. This is her best movie, but she should have chosen a better movie to star in. GREADE: B-
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is the spoken alphabet for WTF! I guess we all know what that means!
Bob, I think WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT is a terrible title for a movie!
Why no, Bob, what does it mean? World Tennis Federation, right?
I like Tina Fey, but the trailer for this movie completely turned me off. An Afghan woman driving a car in reverse? Ha-ha-ha. Trying to say something about a culture that oppresses its women by making the tritest old joke about women drivers? I think not.
/Soapbox dismount!
Deb, you put your finger on the weakness of WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT: too predictable, too trite, too paint-by-the-numbers. Like you, I really like Tina Fey and I see her attempt to master a “dramatic” role as a brave move to broaden her skill-set. But, this movie was not a good choice.
It got mediocre reviews and I’d be perfectly happy to wait until it hits television, but Jackie has had it on the radar since day one and today is the day we’ll see it.
On the up side, it does have Tina Fey and Martin Freeman, so I’m sure it won’t be a total loss.
Jeff, Tina Fey, Martin Freeman, and the rest of the talented cast aren’t given much to do. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT is a wasted opportunity to really make a great film.
Trailers turned me off too. She or her people do not seem to understand her strengths and weaknesses. Or perhaps she chooses foolishly. Or maybe she is a skit actress and not much more. Or maybe she should stick to writing. Something’s wrong.
Patti, I admire actors who want to “stretch” and try new things. But WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT is the wrong vehicle for Tina Fey. She’s talented and she has a lot of stars around her in this film but the result is a dud.
this will be a netflix or hbo/starz for me I like Tina Fey, though the movie I least wanted to see was sisters, the one with Amy Poehler.
Maggie, SISTERS is a very different movie from WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT!
I like Fey, but this movie looks terrible. Should have given it a C-.
Rick, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT had some interesting elements and a talented cast, but the result was mediocre. A golden chance was wasted…
Rick–What the Flock!? That’s close enough for a family blog!
OK, we saw it. Jackie liked it more than I did but for what it’s worth:
1. It wasn’t a romantic comedy, or indeed any type of comedy. As long as you go in knowing that, you might like it better than George did. There was little humor.
2. I found the stuff with Alfred Molina to be creepy in the extreme,
3. I think I liked it a bit more than George, probably because I had lower expectations.
4. This was at least the third time Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman have been in the same movie or television show – LOVE ACTUALLY, season one of FARGO, and this,
Jeff, I’m with you on Alfred Molina’s character. Very creepy.