“Moonshot” is a typical rom-com and nothing more. Starring Cole Sprouse as Walt and Lana Condor as Sophie, “Moonshot” is a story of two young college students who take risks to follow their dreams and learn about love, growth and letting go.
Walt is your average college boy, other than the fact that he has an obsession with traveling to Mars. Yes, you heard that right, Mars. Unfortunately, after his numerous applications are denied, he’s forced to find a creative way to reach the stars. Sophie couldn’t be any more different, though. While her boyfriend, Calvin (Mason Gooding), is currently on Mars, Sophie’s fear of flying keeps her head in the books, and out of the clouds. After serious contemplation, Walt tricks Sophie into buying a $1 million ticket to Mars, mostly so he could then sneak in behind her (without her knowing, of course).
I figured “Moonshot” would be cheesy, but I didn’t realize exactly how cheesy it would be. While I believe the two lead actors are both wonderful on their own, I felt “Moonshot” was slightly too predictable and left me feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. Not to mention, the interactions between Sophie and Calvin made me cringe. Ranging from her obsession of him to their sexual FaceTime calls, I couldn’t help but curl inward.
Let me begin by prefacing that I do know this movie takes place a few decades from now, but nonetheless I found it to be extremely unrealistic. Partying and sneaking into a spaceship that resembles a luxury hotel just doesn’t seem like something we will reach by 2050. Not to mention, Walt snuck onto the rocket with absolutely zero health checks and somehow managed to trick the captain into letting him stay by making her believe that he was, in fact, Sophie’s boyfriend Calvin. While I hope that in the future, regular citizens are able to travel to Mars in a day, it just seemed a bit too unrealistic for me.
If there is one thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about “Moonshot,” it’s the representation. The audience is able to witness a strong female Vietnamese lead, as well as a biracial lesbian engagement. Calvin, Sophie’s boyfriend, is mixed, and the captain of the ship is Latina. It was refreshing to see a cast that had lead characters who weren’t white. Especially for the young girls who wish to go to Mars and be an astronaut, this movie showed them they can do it, regardless of their ethnicity.
Overall, I found the plot of “Moonshot” to be a bit dull, and it didn’t leave me wanting more. While I am usually a lover of rom-coms, this one just felt a bit too cheesy for my liking.
Rating: 2 / 5 stars
