Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Movie Review

Tina Fey & Billy Bob Thornton (r) star in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Kabul Happens

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: SNL alumni Tina Fey steps into the well worn shoes of journalist Kim Barker in Paramount Pictures' adaptation of Barker's memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which details her years as a reporter in Pakistan and Afghanistan beginning in 2002. Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. Co-stars Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Christopher Abbott, Alfred Molina and Billy Bob Thornton.


The war in Afghanistan is truly "a forgotten war," and a curious background for a comedy. Despite an engaging first half, and some strong supporting turns (Molina, Thornton) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot slowly descends into a drama/rom-com that fails to take advantage of Fey's comedic talents. Her performance is surprisingly flat... save for a few funny moments early on, as she adjusts to her new surroundings (orange backpack, wind.) Fey's Barker asks, "How does this end?" Thornton's reply? "This war's like fu*king a gorilla: You keep going until the gorilla wants to stop." Evidently, this gorilla wasn't done yet.

Grade: C+ (Hmm, two directors...)