It is a weird thing to realize that most of our collective memory of the Apollo 11 moon landing is basically a product of PR. We like to think of the 1960s space race as this purely scientific, noble pursuit of the stars, but honestly? It was a marketing nightmare. NASA was bleeding money, the public was losing interest, and the Soviet Union was winning the "cool" factor. That is exactly where Fly Me to the Moon (2024) steps in. It’s a movie that plays with the "what if" of the moon landing being faked, but not in a conspiracy theorist way. It’s more of a love letter to the people who had to sell the moon to a cynical American public.
You've got Scarlett Johansson playing Kelly Jones, a shark-like marketing executive who could probably sell ice to a polar bear. She gets hired by a mysterious government fix-it man named Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to fix NASA’s image. Opposite her is Channing Tatum as Cole Davis, the straight-laced, gritting-his-teeth launch director who actually cares about the bolts and the fuel. The chemistry is there, sure, but the real heart of the film is the tension between the "truth" of science and the "version of truth" that people need to see to stay inspired.
The Marketing of the Moon
Back in 1969, the stakes were sky-high. Like, literally. The U.S. government was terrified that if Apollo 11 failed, the American spirit would just... collapse. Fly Me to the Moon leans heavily into the real-world pressure NASA faced. While the movie is a fictionalized dramedy, the historical context is surprisingly solid. NASA actually did have a massive PR department. They worked with journalists, they staged photos, and they turned astronauts into celebrities because they needed the funding.
Kelly Jones in the film is a composite of the high-energy ad execs of the era. She treats the moon landing like a product launch. Think Mad Men but with more rocket fuel. She secures sponsorships with Tang and Omega watches—things that actually happened in real life. But then comes the big pivot: Project Artemis. In the movie’s world, this is a secret backup plan to film a "fake" moon landing on a soundstage just in case the real one goes sideways.
Is it historically accurate? No. NASA didn't hire a marketing girl to film a fake moon landing in a secret hangar. But the feeling of the era—the desperation to win the Cold War—is spot on. It captures that 1960s aesthetic perfectly, from the narrow ties to the vibrant, saturated colors of the Florida coast.
Why People Keep Obsessing Over the "Fake" Moon Landing
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Why did director Greg Berlanti decide to tackle the faked moon landing trope? It’s a risky move. For decades, NASA has fought against the "Moon Hoax" theorists who claim Stanley Kubrick directed the whole thing. By putting a fake moon landing at the center of a romantic comedy, Fly Me to the Moon actually ends up debunking the conspiracy in its own way.
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The movie shows just how impossible it would be to keep that many people quiet. It portrays the fake set as a chaotic, glitchy mess that pales in comparison to the actual bravery of the astronauts. It’s a clever meta-commentary. By showing us the "fake" version, the film highlights how much more impressive the "real" version was. It validates the science by showing how hard it is to fake the soul of the mission.
Cole Davis, Tatum's character, represents the technical side of the house. He is haunted by the Apollo 1 fire—a real tragedy that killed three astronauts in 1967. This gives the movie weight. It isn't just jokes and flirting. It’s about the grief and the stakes of putting humans on top of a giant bomb and pointing it at the sky.
A Different Kind of Period Piece
Most space movies are cold. Think First Man or Apollo 13. They are grey, metallic, and very, very serious. Fly Me to the Moon is bright. It’s a "lifestyle" movie in many ways. It captures the fashion of Cape Canaveral and the vibe of the 1960s Cocoa Beach scene.
You see the shift in how we view history. We’re moving away from the "Great Man" theory of history—where only the guys in the cockpit mattered—and looking at the people in the background. The secretaries, the PR flacks, the engineers who never got their names in the paper. Kelly Jones represents the invisible labor of making the world care about something as abstract as a rock 238,000 miles away.
The film also tackles the ethics of manipulation. Kelly lies. A lot. She creates fake personas and manipulates senators to get what she wants. The movie asks: if the goal is noble (getting to the moon), do the methods matter? It’s a question that feels very 2024, despite the 1960s setting. In a world of deepfakes and AI, Fly Me to the Moon feels strangely relevant. It’s about the struggle to find something real in a world made of artifice.
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The Reality Behind the Fiction
Let's get some facts straight because people often get confused when movies mix history with Hollywood.
- The Funding: NASA’s budget did peak in the mid-60s at about 4% of the federal budget. Today, it’s less than 0.5%. The struggle for money depicted in the film was very real.
- The Apollo 1 Fire: This happened on January 27, 1967. Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee died during a pre-launch test. It nearly ended the program.
- The PR Machine: NASA’s public affairs office was run by Julian Scheer, who was just as media-savvy as any modern influencer. He understood that to keep the program alive, he had to make the astronauts look like gods.
The movie uses these touchstones to build a world that feels lived-in. It’s not a documentary, and it’s not trying to be. It’s a "what if" story that celebrates the ingenuity of the era. Channing Tatum’s performance is solid, though he plays it very straight. Scarlett Johansson is the real engine here. She’s fast-talking, cynical, yet eventually vulnerable. It’s her best "movie star" role in years.
What Most Reviews Miss
A lot of critics looked at Fly Me to the Moon and saw just a rom-com. They missed the cynicism under the surface. This is a movie about how the government handles "the truth." Woody Harrelson’s character is essentially the CIA personified. He’s charming but terrifying. He represents the dark side of the American Dream—the idea that the image of success is more important than the success itself.
There is a scene where they are setting up the fake moon set, and you see the level of detail required to fool people. It’s a nod to the craftsmanship of cinema itself. In a way, the movie is an apology for the "fake moon" rumors while also acknowledging why they exist. We want to believe in magic, but we also know that humans are capable of massive deception.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going to sit down with Fly Me to the Moon, don't expect a technical breakdown of orbital mechanics. Go into it for the character study. Watch the way Kelly Jones navigates a room full of men who don't want her there. Notice the production design—the specific shade of blue used in the NASA hallways, the way the light hits the Florida sand.
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It’s a long movie, clocking in at over two hours, but it moves fast. The dialogue is snappy. It feels like a throwback to the 90s era of big-budget, adult-oriented comedies that don't rely on superheroes or explosions (well, okay, there are some rocket explosions).
Moving Beyond the Screen
If you've watched the film and find yourself wanting more of the actual history, there are a few things you should do. First, check out the documentary Apollo 11 (2019). It uses purely archival footage and gives you the real-time tension of the mission without any Hollywood gloss. It’s the perfect palate cleanser after the fictionalized fun of Fly Me to the Moon.
Second, look into the biography of Julian Scheer. He was the real "Kelly Jones" in many ways, though much less glamorous. He was the one who insisted on a camera being on the lunar lander so the world could watch in real-time. Without his push for media coverage, the moon landing might have been a private government event rather than a global phenomenon.
Next Steps for the Interested Viewer:
- Watch the "Restored" Moon Footage: Look up the high-definition restorations of the Apollo 11 EVA. Seeing it in 4K makes the "faked" arguments look ridiculous because the physics of the dust movement (regolith) couldn't be simulated with 1969 tech.
- Explore the Apollo 1 Memorial: If you’re ever in Florida, visit the Kennedy Space Center. The tribute to the Apollo 1 crew is incredibly moving and provides the somber context that Channing Tatum’s character carries through the film.
- Read "Marketing the Moon": This book by David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek is the definitive text on how NASA sold the space program. It proves that the "marketing" plotline in the movie isn't as far-fetched as you’d think.
Fly Me to the Moon is a reminder that history isn't just about what happened; it's about how we remember it. It invites us to appreciate the messiness of the process. Science is hard. Politics is harder. And selling a dream to millions of people? That might be the hardest job of all.