Review of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) by Troy K — 22 Jun 2016

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot should have been a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I came away feeling little of anything. As a former journalism student, one with an interest in Eastern politics, I thought this film would be something that would explore the state of affairs in the Middle East, and maybe provide insight into the lives of the citizens.

Instead, this is the story of a woman and her caucasian friends partying, bashfully ignoring the customs of the people of Afghanistan and ignoring their journalistic responsibilities in the name of shock-value news.

These aren't fleshed out characters, they are caricatures, none of whom are likeable in the least. Every male in the movie wants to sleep with Tina Fey's character, and outright says so. Every female in the movie looks to take advantage of their male counterparts for their personal gain.

I don't expect life in Afghanistan to be easy, but this portrayal of both the citizenry and the journalists who work there was one very shallow angle of it, one which adds nothing new to the conversation.

If there were at least an interesting story behind the Middle East backdrop, then I would have been interested, but at over two hours, I found myself losing focus very early on. There is a good way to show characters in a grey area, but this was not it.

This was an American take on life in Afghanistan, one which is neither funny nor interesting. I would not recommend this to anyone. 2 out of 5 stars.