Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

OK, so Tina Fey isn't actually a soldier, but she's not the horny bimbo who gets busy with George Clooney in Three Kings either. Its now clear that Tina Fey is one of the most multi-talented people in the entertainment world, and this movie will go far toward solidifying her reputation as a broad gauge polymath. Aside from everything else, its clear she's a wonderful actor, and interestingly enough all the really strong central characters in this movie are indeed women (as Tina ruefully laments that she should have googled one particular character.) Don't worry, there's plenty of blood and guts, bad language, and techno porn for the teen-aged boys (why on earth would anybody come to a R rated movie with WTF as the title and give it a bad review for being shocked by language, sex, and violence. Don't however, expect Margot Robbie or anyone else to replay Margot's Wolf of Wall Street shenanigans.) Even the Anglo actors playing indigini (as we called the locals in Viet nam) are wonderful. Well worth seeing, worth owning.

I am impressed. This is one of the few films which has inspired me to read the source material; the autobiography by the journalist Kim Baker..

The film starts with comic moments as greenhorn middle-America Kim Baker (Tina Fey) arrives in a war zone. Then, the film darkens as it touches on the corruption of the expatriate community and the seduction of war reporting.

Surprisingly, Tina Fey can act in a dramatic role. Being comic with a straight face, facing danger, fending off romeos, and falling in love. In the end, Kim Baker rediscovers herself and returns home.

The film deals superficially with the horror faced by Afghan civilians and the root causes of the insurgency. However, this is the story of a white woman in a foreign land.

Overall, the film was predictable but lightly touches the soul. Credit to the editor for walking the difficult line between entertainment and horror. The rest of the cast did a creditable job.

This movie is another one from the lazy mind chain that we simply have started to refer to as 'Hollywood' nowadays. I could digest some of the American jingoism paraded recently in all their sci-fi movies, but when you are delivering something about a region torn by American hegemonic war of 16 years (and counting), the jokes about Afghan men humping donkeys as a joke just brings bad taste in the mouth.

The movie is based on the memoirs of a news journalist (real life Kim Baker book ' The Taliban shuffle') who is reluctantly pushed in the war torn Afghanistan to cover the media news coverage. Tina fey stars as the main character. I'm not particularly fan of Tina fey and her pretending to put a girlish vibe in her 40's just doesn't cut it. The western women are presented as some sex deprived nymphs with lines of "when your p** starts eating your leg after 2 months then tell me". Really are women in west so thirsty after 2 months?. Almost half the movie is filled with partying of women, drinking, trying to be adventurous or just delivering nasty one liners to men about urinating in the open or becoming bold every time with false bravado. (seriously?)

Characters don't really seem to give any heed to the country they are trying to cover OR the poor people they are supposed to be looking out as foreign 'saviours'. Afghans are portrayed as someone belonging to neolithic period and so is the country. As a consultant who has visited Afghanistan around the same period, I can safely say that all the caricatures developed here are utter nonsense and denigrating to the country's state as many of the amenities available in a developed society are available in Afghanistan's bigger cities. Same is the depiction of Chinese brothels in Afghanistan and lines uttered about 'Taliban punishing men whose under hair used to curl on their sticks(!)' (spoken by some high profile Afghan senator) which is another unverified account.

In reality what the movie overlooks completely how American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are living in one of the highly sophisticated luxury affairs that any soldier can dream nowadays. Hollywood depictions of how American system is better than others by taking puns on other cultures are coming off as fake and repetitively boring.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (2016 release; 111 min.) brings the story ("Based on a True Story" we are reminded) of Kim Baker (played by Tina Fay.. As the movie opens, we see Baker in a heated argument with an Afghani man. Then we go "Two Years Earlier", where Baker, looking miserable, is in a team meeting for some news outfit. When told that there is a shortage of TV journalists in Afghanistan, Baker does not hesitate, and she volunteers, supposedly for a three month assignment. Next thing, we see Baker arrive at the Kabul Airport. At this point we are at most 10 minutes into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is the big screen adaptation of the book "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by real-life TV reporter Kim Barker (not sure why in the movie the names becomes "Baker"). The movie is the latest for directing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously brought us "Crazy Stupid Love" and "Focus", among others. Here, they, along with producers Lorne "SNL" Michaels and Tina Fay herself, try to give us a glimpse of what it was like for an inexperienced journalist to come to Afghanistan in 2003 and report on the war. The early past of the movie shows us how Baker is adjusting to her new environment, and what a shock to the system it is indeed. Along the way we get to know fellow journalist Tanya Vanderpoel, (played by up-and-coming Australian actress Margot Robbie who also was in "Focus"). But the movie really takes off in the second hour (no worries, I won't spoil). Incredibly, Google Movie Times bills this as a 'comedy', and IMDb categorizes it as "Comedy, War". Please note: this is NOT a comedy. If you are going to see this, expecting many laugh-out-loud moments as only Tina Fey the comedian can bring them you are going to be sorely disappointed and let down. Sure, there are a few good chuckles early on as Baker/Fey adjusts to life in Afghanistan, but that's it. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is a journalistic war drama, period. Not sure whether it is the producers or the studio who are pushing this as a 'comedy' but that is a grave mistake. Besides Fey and Robbie, there are many other fine performances, including Billy Bob Thornton in a small role as a Marine Corps General. Last but bot least, there is a lot of great music in the film, including the original score, courtesy of Nick "DeVotchKa" Urata, and also a bunch of song placements, such as Radiohead's "Nude", the National's "Green Gloves" and Harry Nillson's "Without You", which I will never listen to the same way again, seeing how it was used in this movie. Bottom line: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is a fine movie, shouldered by Tina Fey NOT being funny.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" was released nationwide this weekend. The Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was not attended well, I am sad to report. Apparently it underperformed elsewhere too, grossing only $7 million, far below expectations. That is a darn shame. I blame both the (intentional or not) mislabeling of this as a 'comedy' when it is nothing near that, and/or fatigue among US audiences on seeing movies about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. Regardless, I enjoyed "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" a lot for what it is (journalistic war drama). If you have a chance to catch this, be it in theaters, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, I strongly encourage you to do so as this movie deserves a bigger audience. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Tina Fey is Tina Fey in this movie. I loved the fact that she didn't pretend to be anything else. Westerners behaved like westerners in this movie.

Many war films try to sell you the emotional experience of a war. This is an American woman's story in Afganistan. Her world is other people like her and one slim contact with the world that she was in. Yes the movie is self-centered. Let's not bullshit ourselves into thinking we can be a whole lot more than that.