Quality comedy is scant these days, but “Long Shot” (formerly known as “Flarsky”), starring Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, looks decent. Rogen was the king of slacker comedy in the aughts but has been sorta tossed aside this last decade for reasons I can only imagine.
Director’s Jonathan Levine’s track record isn’t too bad either, he directed the stoner cancer comedy “50/50,” more successfully, to my eyes and ears at least, the stoner Christmas comedy “The Night Before,” which I predict will become some kind of cult comedy classic in the near future, if it hasn’t already.
As for this latest film, it’s all about whether you want to believe that a schlub reporter (Rogen), can actually hook up with a politician (Theron) who is vying for Presidency. The thick of the plot seems to be about them trying to hide their romance to the public eye because God forbid they find out she’s actually dating this putz.
I adore Theron, despite winning an Oscar in 2004, she’s remains an underrated actress that, if given the right script, can absolutely deliver the goods. Her best work includes, from just last year, Jason Reitman’s highly underrated “Tully,” which deserves to be included among her very best work (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Young Adult,” “North Country,” and “Monster”)
“Long Shot” will premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March and released in theaters on June 7, 2019.