Moonshot

I’m not, by and large, a rom-com guy. They’re incredibly formulaic. You can set your watch to the meet-cute, the unintentional courtship, the third act argument, and the reconciliation. It’s almost always up to the charisma of the cast to drag a rom-com over the finish line to decency. Moonshot is one of those movies that manages it, although just barely. Lana Condor is, as she was in the To All The Boys movies, a delight. The screen is brighter and sweeter every moment she’s on it. And to my shock, Cole Sprouse is not only entertaining, but downright delightful. At times, it feels like he’s doing a Ryan Reynolds impression, but I like Sprouse more because he isn’t Ryan Reynolds; he’s a little closer to a normal guy than RR is, so the disarming charisma and razor sharp wit feels more like a regular guy with a dynamic personality than a matinee idol that’s a little too douchey. Together, they have great chemistry, both as enemies, then frenemies, then star-crossed lovers. And the direction and cinematography are both great, giving the movie constant energy and a sense of wonder, thanks to the movie’s unique setting of interstellar space. This has almost all the trappings of a rare excellent rom-com. What lets this movie down from hitting that level isn’t the adherence to the formula. It isn’t the way the movie rapidly ties up plot threads in the third act. It’s that the two leads DO NOT BELONG TOGETHER. The last-minute “they have flaws” reveals of the outside love interests aren’t enough to paper over the fact that these two people have nothing in common and once the new-love butterflies (born of being forced into close proximity instead of real attraction) go away, they’ll quickly realize they still have nothing in common and the animosity will resurface. It is painful to watch this movie strain against itself and force these characters into a love story when it shouldn’t be there. The movie almost has to beg on bended knee for you not to put a moment’s thought into their “romance”. I stayed invested not because of the story but all the other elements. It’s a fun script, it has some gorgeous views, some genuine laughs, and two incredibly charming actors. I just wish the movie hadn’t set up two characters to come together when they’re clearly not supposed to be.