Seth Rogen is.... well he's kind of.... he's a little bit... uh.... well he's had a strange career. Do I like him? I don't really know? He's had his ups and downs in the past, so going into Long Shot, I knew it could go either way. I mean Charlize Theron is a pretty safe bet, because even when the film's she's in isn't great, she's usually pretty fantastic, so honestly I had no idea what this movie was going to be like. An you know what? It actually really worked. I mean a romantic comedy about the secretary of state and a down on his luck journalist that plays out against the backdrop of the current American political landscape? That's a really unique concept for a movie, one that could have easily gone so wrong. But from Long Shots opening minutes, it's clear that were in safe hands. Rogen grounds his lumpy loveability with genuine heart, one that makes his jaded journo human as well as hilarious. Charlize Theron also gets a chance to flex her comedy muscles, with her struggle to succeed being both (topically) hilarious and taken seriously. Both of these characters are strong on their own, but the chemistry between Theron and Rogen is what makes this film work. They make for both a hilarious comedy duo and a legitimately charming couple, and considering how much this film hinges on their chemistry, the fact that it's both really funny and really sweet is the film's strongest asset
Long Shot is a lot of things, and for the most part, they're pretty good. Take it as a comedy and it's hilarious. Take it as a romance and it's genuine. Take it as a satire and it's razor sharp. True, not everything works, there are a few jokes that fall flat (not sure we needed to see Seth Rogen's alternative approach to beard-care), as well as a sequence involving a drugged up night of chaos that goes on way longer than it probably needs to. But I think what makes Long Shot works is that, above all else, you believe it. When the film hits the inevitable emotional story beats, they feel genuine. No forced emotion here, just a legitimately sweet conclusion to a really smart movie. Long Shot is a crowd pleaser that doesn't pull any punches, and any joke that feels overlong or too crude is forgivable (sometimes just about) in a film that's this charming, funny and relevant.
Rom-coms really are making a comeback, aren't they?
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Speaking of long shots, One Cut of the Dead starts off with a cracking one. I had seen a lot about this movie and its first shot, that insane 37 minute long shot. And so I went into it excited, but expecting that first shot to be treated as some sort of gimmick, especially because I had no idea what came after it. Little did I know that this was gonna be one of the best films about making films I've ever seen
Yeah, that first shot, with the zombies and the gore and all of that stuff is awesome. It's genuinely quite an engaging horror story, but the film becomes so much more after it. Watching everything play out once is great, but then seeing that from another angle and discovering another layer to the story makes everything even better. You're not seeing the film anymore, you're seeing how it's being made, and suddenly it's not about the story, it's about how the story is being told. It's about working around issues and problems, and accidental moments of genius, and that's when this becomes awesome.
The idea that the show must go on is all over One Cut of the Dead, a film about making the best product you can in spite of limited resources. It's often said that film is an illusion, and I really love movies that show the audience how that illusion is being done. That's something that's even more potent here, because not only are you seeing how they're making this insane one take zombie movie, but they're making it pretty much on the fly in spite of so many problems. Suddenly, what I thought was a zombie movie is actually something much better, a funny, clever tale of doing the best work you can, and never settling for anything but that. In a way, it's a story about why filmmaking matters, because filmmakers are able to utilise so many different things to tell a story. And the eventual triumph of the crew is such a sweet ending. This is why film production is awesome. Because it's literally the creation of dreams. And that's something that this film is all for. It's an awesome love letter to filmmaking, and I just loved it
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