Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (film)

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
File:Whiskey Tango Foxtrot poster.png Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Glenn Ficarra John Requa
Produced by	Ian Bryce Tina Fey Lorne Michaels
Screenplay by	Robert Carlock
Based on	The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker
Starring	Tina Fey Margot Robbie Martin Freeman Alfred Molina Billy Bob Thornton
Music by	Nick Urata
Cinematography	Xavier Grobet
Edited by	Jan Kovac
Production companies	Broadway Video Little Stranger
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	March 4, 2016 (2016-03-04)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$24.7 million

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a 2016 American biographical war dramedy film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, and written by Robert Carlock, based on the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker. The film stars Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Christopher Abbott, Alfred Molina and Billy Bob Thornton. It was released on March 4, 2016 by Paramount Pictures.

Plot

Dissatisfied with the state of her career covering low-profile stories, television journalist Kim Baker (Tina Fey) agrees to take a short assignment as a war correspondent in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, to the disappointment of her boyfriend Chris (Josh Charles), who also spends a lot of time traveling. Assigned low-budget living quarters with other international journalists, she begins friendships with noted Australian correspondent Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie) and openly lecherous Scottish freelance photographer Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman). After a period of adjustment aided by her Afghan "fixer" Fahim Ahmadzai (Christopher Abbott), she begins taking well to the assignment, eliciting frank remarks on camera from soldiers questioning the value of their assignment there, and putting herself in harm's way to capture combat incidents on video. American Marines commander General Hollanek (Billy Bob Thornton) takes a dim view of her, as an inexperienced nuisance.

Despite the danger, Kim stays in Afghanistan for months, then years beyond her original assignment. She catches Chris unprepared with a middle-of-the-night video call, and finds him with another woman, ending their relationship. Against her better judgment, she begins a sexual relationship with Iain, which over time also develops into a more personal one. Although her status as a woman presents challenges in a society which places restrictive roles on women, she also uses it to her advantage, gaining access to women in a village who explain that they've been sabotaging the US-built well because they welcome the daily walk to the river away from the men, and recklessly carrying a camera under a burqa to record a religious demonstration. She also walks a tightrope, taking advantage of the thinly-veiled sexual interest of Afghan government figure Ali Massoud Sadiq (Alfred Molina) to use him as a source. Fahim – who treated opium addicts before the war – cautions her, pointing out that danger can be like a drug.

Despite their mutual friendliness, Kim remains in competition with other journalists for stories and for resources from their employers back home. Kim flies to New York to argue for more support from her network's new boss, only to discover that Tanya is slated to take over from her. Meanwhile, Iain is kidnapped for ransom while traveling cross-country to cover a developing story that Kim had been working on. Kim returns "home" to Afghanistan, where she blackmails her "friend" Ali for information about Iain's whereabouts, and impresses upon Hollanek the political value to him of rescuing Iain. The mission – accompanied by Kim's cameraman – is a success, both militarily and journalistically. But Kim begins to see the danger that she is putting herself in, bids farewell to her colleagues and to Fahim, and returns to the U.S. to stay.

After returning, she looks up a Marine (Evan Jonigkeit) who was transferred, apparently because of his on-camera comments to her, and subsequently lost both of his legs to an IED. She tries to apologize for the consequences of her actions, but he refuses to let her take the blame. She moves on to an on-camera desk job, where she later finds herself interviewing Iain, who is going to be in New York soon as part of a tour for his new book, and who invites her to meet him for a drink.

Cast

• Tina Fey as Kim Barker
• Margot Robbie as Tanya Vanderpoel
• Martin Freeman as Iain MacKelpie
• Christopher Abbott as Fahim Ahmadzai
• Billy Bob Thornton as General Hollanek, US Marine Corps
• Alfred Molina as Ali Massoud Sadiq
• Sheila Vand as Shakira El-Khoury
• Nicholas Braun as Tall Brian
• Steve Peacocke as Nic
• Evan Jonigkeit as Coughlin
• Scott Takeda as Ed Faber
• Josh Charles as Chris
• Cherry Jones as Geri Taub
• Sterling K. Brown as Sergeant Hurd

Production

In February 2014, Tina Fey confirmed that her production company, Little Stranger, would adapt the memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan into a film. Fey would star in the lead role, which would be produced by Lorne Michaels and written by Robert Carlock. On June 30, 2014, Paramount tapped Glenn Ficarra and John Requa to direct the film. On October 22, 2014, Margot Robbie joined the cast to play a competing reporter alongside Fey's character. On November 20, 2014, Martin Freeman was in talks to play Fey's character's unexpected love interest, a dedicated Scottish photojournalist. On January 10, 2015, it was reported that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was in talks to join the film for a male lead role, although he did not ultimately star in the film. On February 2, 2015, Christopher Abbott joined the film's cast. On February 3, 2015, Nicholas Braun joined the film to play Tall Brian, Fey's character's cameraman, and film was titled as Fun House. On February 9, 2015, Steve Peacocke was set to star in the film, playing Nic, Fey's character's alpha male bodyguard. On February 11, 2015, confirmed cast was announced, with Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, Sheila Vand, and Evan Jonigkeit also joining the cast of the film, in which Vand would play Shakira El-Khoury, a Lebanese reporter who works alongside Kim and Tanya.

Fey confirmed that the film's title would be Whiskey Tango Foxtrot in an interview with USA Today. Kim Barker was changed to a cable-news reporter. Margot Robbie is playing Tanya Vanderpoel, a British TV journalist whom Kim admires and befriends. Christopher Abbott plays Afghan “fixer” Fahim Ahmadzai, who acts as driver, translator and all-around handyman for reporters. Martin Freeman is Iain MacKelpie, a Scottish war photographer who is Kim Barker's love interest. Rounding out the ensemble cast is Billy Bob Thornton as Gen. Hollanek, a military man who initially scares Kim, and Alfred Molina is a local official who has a romantic interest in her.

Filming

On February 3, 2015, the Albuquerque Journal reported that filming was underway in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Fey was spotted filming in the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. On February 11, 2015, Paramount also confirmed that principal photography had commenced on the film in New Mexico. Production on the film concluded on April 10, 2015.

Release

The film was originally titled The Taliban Shuffle and Fun House, before settling on Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. It was released on March 4, 2016.

Reception

Box office

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot grossed $23.1 million in North America and $1.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $24.4 million, against a budget of $35 million.

In the United States and Canada, pre-release tracking suggested the film would gross $10–12 million from 2,374 theaters in its opening weekend, trailing fellow newcomers Zootopia ($60–70 million projection) and London Has Fallen ($20–23 million projection). The film ended up grossing $7.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing below expectations and 4th at the box office.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 67%, based on 163 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While WTF is far from FUBAR, Tina Fey and Martin Freeman are just barely enough to overcome the picture's glib predictability and limited worldview." Metacritic gives the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

External links

• Official website
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot at IMDb