Martin Freeman and Tina Fey are in “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”. Though in real life Barker met many important government officials, the one who made it into the movie was a fictionalized version of the one who repeatedly hit on her. The movie falls back on the broad perception of Afghanistan being risky, sexist and ultra-different, which maybe it is, but the movie doesn’t look too hard for the complexity and humanity that are there, too. Fey’s longtime writing and producing partner, Robert Carlock, wrote the screenplay, and though the two have teamed up on mumerous TV projects (Unbreakable Kimmy Schidt, 30 Rock, SNL, the Golden Globes), this their first movie project together. Tina brings her impeccable comic timing and sarcasm to the nonstop insanity that is the “Kabubble”, sure, but she also performs with honest emotion in such a way that I felt it was her most worthwhile dramatic role in a movie. In over their heads, all of them.
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Kim Baker is a bored news writer who, in the opening scenes, takes a job as an on-camera reporter in Afghanistan, a setup inspired by the real Baker’s memoir, “The Taliban Shuffle”. “Also, when I came back, man, I just wanted to come up with a way that would make people read about Afghanistan and Pakistan”. There are only two major Afghan characters, and-surprise!-they’re both played by people who are not remotely Afghan: Christopher Abbott as translator/”fixer” Fahim and Alfred Molina as government official/Baker’s would-be suitor Sadiq.
Will any of that matter to U.S. audiences? What distinguishes this war movie from many others is that there are no clear good or bad guys, only humans in an inhuman situation.
Robbie (“Focus” and “The Wolf of Wall Street”), plays Tanya, the other female journalist covering unstable governments and burgeoning terrorist groups. Through her friendship with Fahim, Barker learns the customs of the country and ultimately faces the ugly truth of her adrenaline addiction, one of the most engaging moral dilemmas of the film. “It’s called Kabul Cute”.
Cut to 2016, and “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”, an adaptation of Barker’s book starring … Instead, we get a new, smarter tale of a woman dealing with the choices unique to her profession. Their romance is pretty adorable.
Our hearts did not collectively shatter when Tina Fey turned down the opportunity for a sequel, because let’s be honest, has there ever been a sequel to a fantastic movie that wasn’t a total letdown? While she is best known as a master of improv and comedy, Fey could relate to the story that unfolds in the book – and the movie – on many levels. It’s a 4 that thinks it’s a 10.
Fey plays Kim with hilarious honesty that carries the film – no question. And isn’t that why we were over there in the first place? A couple of faceless security guards might get blown up, but the horrors and complexities of war are outside the bounds of Whiskey and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa aren’t taking a Jarhead approach where they show the malaise of war.
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“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”, a Paramount Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “pervasive language, some sexual content, drug use and violent war images”.
