TINA FEY IN WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT

Tina Fey stars in WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT produced by her SNL buddy Lorne Michaels

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT is not a dance for drunk old people; it has something to do with the military as does this movie, centering on put-upon journalist Kim Baker, who just can't to get an involving story out of the underdog Afghanistan War. During one scene upfront, reminiscent of when FULL METAL JACKET goes from a good movie to a mediocre one, FOXTROT seems very tempted to become political as our heroin, interviewing the band of soldiers she'll be working with, brings up that perhaps too much coverage is invested in Iraq. This is answered by one soldier with a cautious verbal NO yet without saying anything, and that's about it.

Tina lookin' pretty swell

Much of the film has Baker not really trying to dig things up, like a fish outta water/stranger in a new land, or, what journalists, are, deep down: info-archaeologists. In fact she seems downright too damn comfortable in her Afghan barracks, and then during scenes where her and buddy/party mentor Tanya, played by the very pretty (who even has to mention her beauty so we stop paying attention to it) Margot Robbie, go out on the town looking for men like they're in New York City. And what turns out completely anti-romantic becomes a sort of windswept, more than one night stand with photographer Ian, who is, when first met, so conceited, opinionated and chauvinistic, there's bound to have some kind of turnaround or the mouthy Scotsman wouldn't have had so much investment in the first place...

We'll show Margot, not Martin

Plus the fact the camera doesn't really center on his face too much as he initially appears in exterior and/or interior hard-to-see night shots; and that facial hair is misleading. So when we finally notice he's really, deep down, a charming Mr. Watson/Frodo Baggins i.e. Martin Freeman (if we didn't anticipate his role beforehand, like yours truly), Fey's Tina has a reason to stick around since no one at home (including her New York office) cares about Afghanistan, especially as we cover all the way to 2010... At which point, there were no noted wars, anyplace... As ISIS hadn't yet reared it's ugly head: And so, overall, WHISKEY gives a nice enough light-buzz, the TANGO providing a tad of adventurous rhythm, and we'll leave FOXTROT alone since the entire title isn't spoken much, or not at all.

In the lead, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alumni Tina Fey does an alright job, once again, as a semi-pretty girl (dumbing down her cuteness; she's actually the Lea Thompson for a young, insecure generation attempting to curb political correctness, unlike most Millennials who wield PC like pocket lint) searching for an angle/purpose, either professional or romantic, both covered here almost equal since the latter winds up meaning more than why she's overseas at all – while never seeming in too much danger. And since she really doesn't rely on her signature humor (like the trailers) to make up for the slow parts, overall it's like an under-par journalist tale that, when it comes down to it, any actress could have starred in.

RATING: **1/2