If you had to make a list of the best comedy duos of all time, who would be on that list for you? Would the names consist of the like of Abbott & Castello, Wilder & Pryor, or maybe even Martin & Lewis . I realize all of those names are from the past, that’s because for me to be a great comedy duo you have to make more than a couple of films together, I feel you should have made a series of films. Just because you don’t make the ‘all-time’ list doesn’t mean there is no room to grow some more, they just haven’t appeared in enough movies yet. I am sure you have names on your mind, as do I , but I want to add one more duo and that would be Rogen & Theron, and after you see Long Shot you’ll understand why.
Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is one of those people whose whole life seems to be leading up to something great. Currently she is the Secretary of State, but she has just been assured the President’s backing as he is going to not seek re-election. With that news, so begins the planning stages on making her the candidate people want to vote for, at the same time she runs into Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen), who she used to babysit as a kid. Flarsky has been working as a journalist, who has tried to show the world what it really is, but who Fields thinks has enough humor and knowledge of her that he could help her win the election. What starts off as speech writing soon turns into more as the time spent and the opportunity soon presents itself, where Flarsky and Field discover something much deeper to their relationship. Love though is never simple and for these two, decisions have to be made if they are to be together, but along the way it’s going to be an interesting, to say the least.
I don’t know why every time I see two opposites perform so well together I am surprised, because it just works so well so many times. With a story written by Liz Hannah and Dan Sterling and directed by Jonathan Levine, they provide the right blend of comedy and playing it straight that is a whole lot of fun. Let’s be honest though, while the writing is really good, when the likes of Rogen and Theron hit the screen, there is little misses when it comes to their performances They know in every film they do what to give and here they are allowed to play to their strengths. So the combination of the two of them, all make for a laughing-out-loud good time at the movies. The chemistry is real between the two leads and with the right supporting cast around them in this film, it just works. Comedy as a genre seems to be a bit lost right now, it’s either too broad of too subtle. Rare are the political romances of old, like The American President, and Dave, but with the right duo, we can get a solid comedy with humor and heart. Until the next one, which hopefully is not too far away, at least we have Long Shot to give us what we need to get in the right mood for the summer.
