Moonshot Review: The Makers Forgot To Add The Romance Bit In This Rom-Com Film. It Was Cole Who Kept The Whole Plot Afloat!
I am a total fan of rom-coms, to be very honest. So much so, that I have also started reading rom-com books and earlier I used to think they were an utter waste of time and money. And romantic-comedy movies are also not far behind, of course. Crazy, Stupid Love, Notting Hill, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days to Made Of Honour and Friends With Benefits, are some of my favourites, off the top of my head. So when I came to know that a new rom-com film, Moonshot is getting released, I was most definitely excited to watch it. But what added an element of surprise was when I learnt this is an SCI-FI rom-com film and I was curious to know how a film of this genre will turn out. So, here I am reviewing the film Moonshot for you!
Moonshot is directed by Christopher Winterbauer and is written by Max Taxe. The movie stars Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor in the lead roles, while Mason Gooding, Emily Rudd and Zach Braff star as supporting characters. The film is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
What Is Moonshot about?
Well, the film primarily revolves around Walt (Cole Sprouse) and Sophie (Lana Condor) and the futuristic world they live in. Walt is an ‘assistant’ barista to a robot at an on-campus cafe whereas Sophie is an exceptionally brilliant and smart student. They live in a world where technology has advanced so much that you can actually go live on Mars! Yes, you can go live on the Red Planet! If you are a student, all you have to do is send your application to the Kovi Industries Student Mars Program and if you are selected, you are shuttled, buckled and rocketed off to Mars! I know this sounds so frickin’ cool and I wished this would happen in real someday! Well, our dear Walt here has been dreaming of going to Mars since he was a kid but because of being low on funds and getting rejected from the student programme “37” times, he has been unable to step foot on the planet.
View this post on Instagram
Now, Sophie lives alone as her parents died when she was young. But her boyfriend, Calvin’s family takes her in and treats her like their family. Calvin has gotten his dream job on Mars causing him and Sophie to get into a truly LONG long-distance relationship. At one point, Sophie panics when she realises that the only people who know her live 55 million miles away! I mean who wouldn’t have a panic attack at this? So, well, being the good girl that Sophie is, she tries to keep it all together through video-calling and texting with Calvin. At a party, Walt also meets a girl called Ginny who he shares interesting chemistry with but Ginny is off to Mars the very next day.
Although, through their bickering, Walt realises Sophie is a millionaire and can afford a “discounted” commercial ticket costing $937,000 to Mars. And that’s when Sophie decides to go after her boyfriend and Walt pleads with her to allow him to accompany her to till the boarding gate of the space shuttle only to sneak in without a ticket. A free trip to Mars? Where do I signup? But things take a turn for worse by the time the duo reaches the planet!
View this post on Instagram
Fast-forwarding a little bit, the duo lands in trouble only to realise that their happiness lies on a different planet.
Also read: ‘The Adam Project’ Review: Ryan Reynolds Film Is Charming, Wholesome And Uses Time Travel To Make A Point About Parent-Child Relationships
My thoughts:
Ever since I began watching and reading rom-coms, I made a note that they were all based on the same trope. The grumpy x sunshine trope, where the guy is always grumpy and the girl is a chirpy ray of sunshine. But Moonshot has it the other way around. Seeing the female lead grumpy and the male lead as the sunshine was quite refreshing, honestly. Cole Sprouse did a marvellous job at being the cute barista who always has an optimistic approach and never lives his life by the plan. Lana Condor playing the strict rule-abiding heroine was nothing new to watch. She already has played a similar character in the To All The Boys series.
The plot was also predictable because all rom-coms are predictable and you know the hero and heroine will end up together. The new factor here was the whole going-to-Mars thing. I wish they had shown more of the futuristic world. The protagonists spent most of their screen time on the space shuttle, and not even on Mars. Also, when he manages to get on board the shuttle without a ticket, it looks absolutely stupid!
Speaking of romance as this is a “rom-com” film, where was it? There was no angst between Walt and Sophie, no attraction. Their love story was legit drier than the Sahara! I mean come on, how did the makers forget to add the romantic bit? I was here to watch only that. If I go to analyse, it was Cole Sprouse who carried the film till the end. His humour made this half-baked movie bearable. It felt as though Cole Sprouse was the literal life of the film.
On a side note, the robot barista Gary was an absolute cutie! He was sarcastic, witty and very well complemented Walt’s liveliness. So, It made me want a robot like that for myself who would stop me from making the all trashy decisions I later regret *sigh*. Also seeing how the male protagonist needed “help” to get through life and the female was financially sorted felt like a fresh take on things. Some of the dialogues Cole delivered were so bang-on and definitely felt like personal advice. Felt temporarily cute, might not recommend watching it!
