Who would pair Seth Rogen with Charlize Theron, but that’s the hook in Long Shot. On the surface they don’t match up very well, but the script takes that chance and puts the characters in a romantic situation even when he has little status and she is a candidate for President of the United States.
The two meet when he is 13 and she is 16 and his baby sitter. He is smitten by her looks and idealism as she plans a campaign to become her class president.
In the present time he finds himself out of his journalism job when a new owner takes over the publication he works for. Fred (Seth Rogen) is an idealist who has produced a number of impressive and abrasive stories. Charlotte (Charlize Theron) has continued to be a dedicated competent leader and holds the position of Secretary of State for the United States.
The two connect and Fred makes an impression by falling down a flight of stairs and making a fool of himself. But his work impresses Charlotte and against advice of her two key staff members (June Diane Raphael and Ravi Patel) she hires him to write her speeches. After a little adjustment he hits the right notes and her idealism flourishes using his heroic words.
Rogen finds himself in a series of comical situations but mostly he quickly becomes her lover. Rogen’s Fred wears a baseball cap and a warm up jacket and looks out of place as he follows Charlotte into the halls of power around the world. At one point the aid played by June Diane Raphael is assigned to get him into proper dress for a public event with movers and shakers. She dresses him in the same outfit used by the folks who park cars, that creates a good comic situation.
Fred becomes Charlotte’s web, particularly when her political enemy has visuals from his laptop showing a scene similar to one in There’s Something About Mary.
Long Shot has a few moments of comedy that work, but it also has bland places in the script which could have ben cut or made better.
The film is a Long Shot not a sure thing.