In 2011, American international journalist Kim Barker penned the memoir, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, touching upon her experiences as a journalist in Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2004 to 2009. Barker’s memoir is the basis of Whisky Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey as Barker, and directed by the tag-team of Glenn Ficarra + John Requa (Focus, Crazy, Stupid, Love, + I Love You Phillip Morris).
We met Barker as a struggling journalist desperately trying to find a role of substance at the network. She is unmarried (though is dating Chris, played by Josh Charles) and has no children, which makes her the perfect fit to be the stations eye and ears in Afghanistan during the war on terrorism.
Barker is thrown into this daunting new world with the guidance of helpful Afghan local Fahim (Christopher Abbott) and security guard Nic (Stephen Peacocke). It’s not until she meets Australian journalist Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie) that she’s finally able to settle into the position and country somewhat comfortably. Through Tanya, she forms a tight bond with the not-so-shy Scottish photographer Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman), which slowly starts to hint at something much more. It takes time, but thanks to relationships with American Marines commander General Hollanek (Billy Bob Thornton) and eccentric Afghan government leader Ali Massoud Sadiq (Alfred Molina), she sees her journalistic career finally take off, also finding a new home with Afghanistan.
Ficarra and Requa try to straddle the fine line that is a dramedy, finding a balance between the serious themes of war, as well as the comedic tone that you come to expect from a movie starring Fey. Thanks to the charming lead of Fey they are mostly able to succeed, but sometimes the lines become too blurry and it creates an uneven tone that is often conflicting.
With that said, Fey proves that she can carry a film of this size and shows off her expected comedic abilities along with some of those dramatic chops that we briefly saw here and there on 30 Rock. Rising star Margot Robbie delvers another likable performance, and is finally able to speak freely in her natural Australian accent. It’s Martin Freeman who steals the show, thanks to some fantastic chemistry with Fey and the ability to play a free and wild personality that he nails. It disappoints me to say that Billy Bob Thornton is unfortunately wasted in his role, and although both Christopher Abbott and Alfred Molina provide some fine work, it was jarring to see them playing Afghan characters for obvious reasons.
While Whisky Tango Foxtrot never quite takes off in the way that I hoped it would, I can say that I did appreciate its attempt to take a more lighthearted comedic approach to a film about a war journalist in Afghanistan. It doesn’t quite tap into its full potential because its tonally conflicted trying to capture both moods. But a winning lead performance by Fey and the cast is enough to make it a very enjoyable viewing experience.
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