Review: 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' finds Tina Fey at her wartime best
In taking Tina Fey to war, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot utilizes her comedic weaponry while also showing she’s well armed with dramatic chops, too.
Boasting the fish-way-out-of-water nature of Private Benjamin and M.A.S.H.’s absurdity and grotesquerie of battle, the comedy (*** out of four; rated R; in theaters nationwide Friday) tries to get real about embedded journalists in “the suck” of mid-2000s Afghanistan. It wobbles in terms of an authentic feel, yet there’s no doubt Fey succeeds in her most serious big-screen outing yet.
She’s cast as Kim Baker, a bored cable news writer suddenly enlisted in very active duty when her media outlet needs an on-camera face in Kabul. (The plot is based on the real-life story of former Chicago Tribune reporter Kim Barker.) Right away, Kim’s life is thrown into disarray in a “fun house” of journalistic bacchanalia, being uncomfortably surrounded by sex — be it the humping dogs outside her room or star reporter pal Tanya (Margot Robbie) wanting to bed Kim’s Kiwi security guy. She also quickly gets on the bad side of gruff Marine Col. Hollanek (Billy Bob Thornton), who immediately sees her as a potential distraction for his men.
Tina Fey faces shrapnel, sexism as 'Whiskey' heroine
Soon, Kim befriends soldiers, throws herself into firefights for footage, cozies up to a cocksure Scottish photographer (Martin Freeman) and begins to get a high from her lifestyle of daytime danger and nighttime vices. It’s a boon for her career that takes a toll on her personally.
The team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love) direct the script by Robert Carlock, a longtime Fey collaborator who definitely knows her voice and gives her plenty of great one-liners — it's like target practice for a comedy pro like Fey. Carlock balances those elements with the horrors of war well, while also surprisingly touching on relevant topics such as the often cutthroat nature of journalism when a great story is on the line.
Tina Fey, Margot Robbie go to war in 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'
In addition, there's an undercurrent of sexism that the film tackles head on, especially in regard to the plight of women in that part of the world. Labeled “Kabul cute” when Kim arrives in the country — Tanya tells her that a woman who's a 6 in Manhattan is a 10 in their new war-torn home — there’s a striking shift in how certain men look at Kim when she has to wear the “blue prison” of a body-covering burqa on a trip to Kandahar.
With that kind of detail paid to the culture, it’s puzzling why a pair of actors who aren't from Afghanistan or the Middle East were cast as Kabul regulars. Christopher Abbott, as Kim's resident helper Fahim, reads on the surface as dissonant, and is only saved by Abbott being a bit of a revelation as he brings a touching and powerful quality to the role. Similarly, Alfred Molina is also noteworthy as over-the-top political up-and-comer Sadiq, who yearns to be Kim’s “very special friend” and takes her out to fire machine guns so he can get to know her better.
Even with the occasional misfire in the plot, Fey’s strong performance throughout the film lets Whiskey go down in smooth and satisfying fashion.