A Recap of The Movie ‘Fly Me to the Moon’
Written by Michael Lee
*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Apple TV+
‘Fly Me To The Moon’ Official Trailer
Video via Sony Pictures Entertainment/Apple TV +
‘Fly Me To The Moon’ Plot Synopsis
Photo via Apple TV +
Set during the Space Race of the 1960’s between the United States and the Soviet Union, we meet Kelly Jones, an intelligent (yet entirely cynical) con artist, who happens to work at an advertising agency as their chief executive. Her goal in advertising? To rely on the sex appeal of her inherent femininity to sell products to men, simple as that. This includes, but certainly isn’t limited to, pretending to be a ditzy Southern belle and even a pregnant mother to get to what she really wants. Kelly is ruthless at her job and will stop at nothing to get it done.
During a meeting, Kelly’s assistant, Ruby, argues they should stop advertising for The Dow Chemical Company, who produces napalm, an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical which produces terrible burns upon the body, often used for warfare. This, for Ruby, is a matter of ethical principle, but Kelly reminds her the same company also makes plastic and styrofoam, which causes Ruby to choke on the disposable cup she’s drinking out of. It’s clear that Kelly isn’t here for ethics, she’s here to sell.
We then meet Cole Davis, a veteran of the Korean War turned NASA scientist who has motivations that lie far outside Kelly’s: Science, the Lord, and the legacy of the astronauts lost during the Apollo 1 launch. We learn that Davis is in charge of the upcoming Apollo 11 launch, but due to the negative press after the Apollo 1 disaster, is doomed to fail, as public interest and government funding within NASA is null. Moe Berkus, a mysterious and altogether quite strange government agent who happens to hate Communists and enjoys cutting lemons for his scotch, hires Kelly Jones to reinvigorate the public's interest in NASA and the race to the moon.
When Davis and Jones meet, sparks do not fly. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The two butt heads immediately, as they come from very different worlds and Davis believes this whole marketing scheme is ‘pointless.’ We learn that Davis is the antithesis to Jones, the two have immediate opposition to one another at a fundamental level. When Kelly Jones requests photos and interviews on behalf of Davis and NASA, Davis responds by putting her new office in a windowless basement far secluded from everyone else.
The next day, Davis walks into the new office only to find his two best scientists installing a picture window for Kelly and he erupts with rage. To Davis, though he doesn’t realize it, Kelly represents a change in the way the world works. It’s not about good work anymore, it’s about marketing and semantics to which Davis does not know how to do. But, he has Kelly Jones.
Kelly is hard at work on selling ‘the moon’. In an attempt to gauge new interest in NASA, she orchestrates brand deals with companies like Fruit of the Loom, an underwear company and when Davis attempts to object, Kelly says “let’s not forget, we’re selling America, here”. Kelly’s other goal, per Moe Berkus, is to oversee a fake version of the first moonwalk on a soundstage called Project Artemis, just in case the first version doesn't exactly pan out, though Davis does not know.
The USA is in the middle of the Cold War, and the White House needs (and is entirely desperate for) a massive win outside of a desolate war so their goal becomes simple: to put someone on the moon before anyone else, something to distract the hearts and minds of the American people as they attempt to rediscover that American magic. The White House, however, has now deemed this project: too important to fail, which rallies Davis and Jones into working together to pull this whole thing off in time.
After all of Kelly’s successful advertising and brand deals, Davis is now successfully able to secure the funds to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, arrive on the moon successfully.. citing their ‘One small step for man’ speech to the world. It is here where Kelly finally reveals to Davis that Berkus had her film fake footage of the moon landing.
With the help of Ruby and other NASA employees, they are able to rewire the camera they’ve attached to the space shuttle and link it to a new TV to monitor both the fake and real footage. Berkus is watching the fake footage, thinking it’s the one that’s currently being broadcasted that is until a black cat crashes the fake set, confirming to Berkus that the feed is live on the real footage, not the fake one. Berkus is relieved and then asks Kelly to destroy all evidence of the fake landing and all other articles belonging to Project Artemis. Kelly reveals her name to actually be Winnie, and the two begin their lives anew, together as the screen fades to black.
