#watched Whisky Tango Foxtrot
Becoz of "Tina Fey's" involvement in this film, folks (like myself) was/were expect a "comedy", and the trailers pointed to it as much, even the film's name allured to the farce ahead: with "Whisky Tango Foxtrot" shortened to "WTF" … and having most recently enjoyed her role in "Sisters" (with Amy Poehler), it looks to be a done deal! Right?
But "WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT" is not (just) a "comedy" per se (and the laughter is slim at best), but instead we are treated to a slightly more than average "drama" (like her 2014 film, "This Is Where I Leave You "), and a pretty decent watch too, and I am glad I waited to catch this.
Good on you, Tina Fey :)
Yes, this is yet another umpteenth film about a "foreigner" stuck in the Middle East, in a middle of a "war", with a westerner's view of said Middle East. Fish out of water and into a desert.
I started this next paragraph with "There's nothing particularly revelatory here", but on hindsight, there were interesting bits and bobs which helped "lifted" the conceptions of being in the country, besides all the other Western POVs in feature films and TV series … but the focus seems to be primarily on Tina's role of "Kim Baker" - who is in fact a real person, as is this film being an adaptation of her autobiographical book ("The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan"), and as well her relationships with other folks, so that worked well enough not to have Whisky Tango Foxtrot become a "social commentary" alone, IMHO.
Rounding out the support cast, are veterans Billy Bob Thornton as "Brigadier General Hollanek" (who looked a little bit too bored here, maybe that's the real reason for the character lol), Martin Freeman as "Iain MacKelpie" (as charming as always), and Alfred Molina as "Ali Massoud Sadiq" (in such a mockable role, I wonder if anyone would be enraged?).
The role of fixer "Fahim Ahmadzai" - played by American actor Christopher Abbott - is as subtle as it is outstanding, and pretty much blows everyone out of the
You can argue "whitewashing" (as is the current "trend" now, as opposed to "had always been an issue"), and I can say "beard". Heh.
The obvious visual candy here is Margot Robbie as "Tanya Vanderpoel", who provided the ogles and the smexy Aussie accent, but alas not a role she could get out of her "Wolf of Wallstreet"-persona (which as "Harley Quinn" might well be her defining role).
Not an exceptional film "needing to be watched", but watched it I did - I in fact waited/searched for it - and enjoyed it I did. Good for a rental.
My takeaway from the film: "Embrace The Suck, and Move The Fuck Forward."
Cheers,
Andy
WHAT-IS: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a 2016 American biographical war comedy-drama film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and written by Robert Carlock, based on the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker. The film stars Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Christopher Abbott, Alfred Molina and Billy Bob Thornton. It was released on March 4, 2016 by Paramount Pictures" (Wiki)
