Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Film Review

Like so many of us, Kim Baker (Tina Fey) is tired of sitting behind a desk, day after day, effectively watching the paint of her life dry before her very eyes. She craves more, she needs a change. It arrives when Kim is offered the journalist opportunity of her lifetime: Leave your droll blandness behind and begin onsite coverage of the war in Afghanistan.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot follows this turning point in Kim’s career as a war correspondent (based on the exploits of Kim Barker) over several years, both in adjusting to a career in dangerous terrain, and also the personal effects a life such as this takes in one’s own life. She befriends Tanya (Margot Robbie), a fellow journalist with the looks of, well, Margot Robbie. Of course, no story of hard-nose reporting on the front lines would be complete without a whimsical romance with a witty Scottish photographer on assignment (Martin Freeman).

Tina Fey takes a calculated departure from her comfort zone to partake in a film with a much heavier toll than her other recent films (‘Sisters’, ‘Date Night’), it’s really too bad the results are such a mixed bag. The acting is across the board solid – with Christopher Abbott and Alfred Molina crafting memorable roles as Kim’s dutiful interpreter and Attorney General informant, respectively – yet none of that matters when you have a story that has the ADD complexity of ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’

You have dramatic tension as Kim pursues a military leader (Billy Bob Thornton) for leads, you have comedic sensibility overload as she juggles the romantic opportunities being the rare attractive female onsite affords, then you have the weird antics of a horn-dog diplomat randomly dancing in the dark in an attempt to win Kim’s affections, and let’s not forget the last-minute kidnapping subplot that tosses all remaining credibility to the wind. Is it a comedy, a drama, a dramedy, a comma…WTF is ‘WTF’?!

The answer is ‘I still don’t know’. While the filmmakers might be unsure of what their movie is going for in terms of tone – and I was reminded of 1996’s ‘Up Close and Personal’ more times than I can count – the one thing I am certain of is that this is a matinee at best. ‘Whisky Tango Foxtrot’ is a welcome attempt at breaking Tina Fey – a gifted actor and comedian – out of her proverbial box, and there are more than enough moments here to slap on a highlight reel and give this talented actress the opportunities she deserves.

Unfortunately – much like Afghanistan and the war itself – as soon as the camera pans away, everything else is all but forgotten.