Seth Rogen has seemingly lived a fairly charmed life. After breaking through with the late ‘90s cult TV hit “Freaks and Geeks” and starring in a string of hits in the mid 2000s like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” and “Pineapple Express,” he quickly established himself as a comedic powerhouse as well as a savvy writer/producer of modern comedy. Conversely, the stunning and talented Charlize Theron honed her craft as a beautiful and exotic actress around the same period, quickly asserting herself as a bold talent in multiple genres while earning herself an Oscar for her portrayal of infamous serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the chilling biopic “Monster”. A more unlikely pairing doesn’t seem remotely possible, but these days, ANYTHING is possible, as they show by starring in the political comedy “Long Shot”.
Rogen is Fred Flarsky, a rogue journalist for an independent newspaper with an incredible knack for provocative writing on extremely polarizing topics. He quits his job after it is acquired by sleazy media mogul Parker Wembley (played by a completely UNRECOGNIZABLE Andy Serkis) and seeks solace in the company of his best friend, Lance (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), at a corporate fundraiser. It is there that he bumps into his childhood crush and former babysitter in Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), current Secretary of State for President of the United States, President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk). After being offered the endorsement by President Chambers to run for President herself, Charlotte quickly recruits Fred as a speechwriter to endear her more to the public as well as help promote her platform of environmental awareness, a subject near and dear to both their hearts.
To proclaim this film an incredibly unexpected pleasant surprise would be understating it greatly: I truly ADORED this film. As much as I was amazed by the chemistry Rogen shared with Elizabeth Banks in “Zack and Miri Make A Porno,” I was absolutely NOT prepared for how well these two would work together, fearing it would be more along the lines of he and Katherine Heigl in “Knocked Up,” which never really sold me. THIS on the other hand, is an absolute testament to two people that seem to bring out the best in each other on screen, with O’Shea really coming into his own and escaping his father Ice Cube’s shadow as a truly gifted comic actor in his own right. The ensemble genuinely gels with each other and the end result really pays off. I would LOVE to see these two work together again and would HIGHLY recommend this film to any fan of Rogen’s brand of humor…and for the love of all things good and holy GIVE CHARLIZE MORE ROLES LIKE THIS…her comic chops are EXCELLENT.