Review of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) by Irene M — 29 Dec 2016

I always enjoy a Tina Fey movie when the chance presents itself. Her writing and producing is usually above average and she was always one of my favorites on network TV. The problem with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, aside from the name being completely lost on me outside of the WTF acronym, is I couldn't tell if I was watching a drama infused with some comedy or a comedy infused with some drama. There's nothing worse than watching a movie for two hours and not knowing whether it's appropriate to laugh or not.

I enjoy watching movies about informative periods in my time I'm not always the most up-to-date on, like the war in Afghanistan. It truly was overshadowed by Iraq during the mid 2000's, and while most people understand it as the hotbed for the Taliban and Osama, it appeared there was more to it behind the scenes of the media. Insert Kim Barker (Tina Fey) and her small band of press colleagues. We are rushed through much of their character background, so there's never really a true moment to feel for or bond with any character over the two hours. The events that play out (even without having prior knowledge) are predictable and sort of uninspiring.

Fey and her co-stars do just enough on their unfocused script to keep you slightly entertained off their charisma, but despite being a fan of all the players involved (Freeman & Robbie to boot), there's just not enough focus here to give WTF more than a glance.