Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)

A journalist recounts her wartime coverage in Afghanistan.

Directors:

Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Writers:

Robert Carlock (screenplay by), Kim Barker (based on the book "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by)

Stars:

Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tina Fey	...	Kim Baker
Margot Robbie	...	Tanya Vanderpoel
Martin Freeman	...	Iain MacKelpie
Alfred Molina	...	Ali Massoud Sadiq
Christopher Abbott	...	Fahim Ahmadzai
Billy Bob Thornton	...	General Hollanek
Nicholas Braun	...	Tall Brian
Stephen Peacocke	...	Nic
Sheila Vand	...	Shakira Khar
Evan Jonigkeit	...	Specialist Coughlin
Fahim Anwar	...	Jaweed
Josh Charles	...	Chris
Cherry Jones	...	Geri Taub
Scott Takeda	...	Ed Faber
Eli Goodman	...	Tucker Wang

Storyline

2003. After careful consideration, Kim Baker, a news copywriter, decides to leave the relative comfort of a New York desk job and serious boyfriend Chris to accept the assignment to work for three months as on-camera reporter in war torn Afghanistan, as her news agency is looking for anyone within their ranks to fill immediately the empty voids overseas. Her only experience of being in such an environment is going through hostile zone training a few years earlier. Immediately upon her arrival in Afghanistan, she realizes that she is ill-prepared emotionally for this assignment, not only enduring the dangers of the war itself, but also the conditions of everyday life, including largely been seen by men as only a "piece of ass" and a distraction despite her being considered average looking back home and not being overtly sexual, and being an individual with a small bladder who is nonetheless told to stay hydrated at all times. She is largely assisted in navigating this new life by Tanya...

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Plot Keywords:

afghanistan | journalist | war on terrorism | kabul afghanistan | female journalist | 

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Taglines:

From the headlines to the front lines

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content, drug use and violent war images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Pushto Dari French

Release Date:

4 March 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Taliban Shuffle

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,443,007, 6 March 2016, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$23,049,575, 24 April 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,939,010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was dedicated to Donald H. Fey, Tina Fey's father.

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Goofs

During the bombing in the cold open, and again later in the film, Kim calls her producer back in New York on an iPhone. This scene takes place in 2006; the first iPhone was released in 2007.

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Quotes

General Hollanek: While you're outside the wire with my men, you will in no way distract them. Understood?
Kim Baker: Are you asking me not to sleep with your soldiers?
General Hollanek: No, not soldiers. Marines. You're not here to sleep with or perform jobs of any type on my Marines.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Margot Robbie/Michael McKean/Kevin Delaney (2016)

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Soundtracks

Jump Around
Written by Larry Muggerud, Erik Schrody, Kal Mann & Dave Appell
Performed by House of Pain
Courtesy of Tommy Boy Music
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Under license from ABKCO Music & Records Inc.

User Reviews

Has soul

I am impressed. This is one of the few films which has inspired me to read the source material; the autobiography by the journalist Kim Baker..

The film starts with comic moments as greenhorn middle-America Kim Baker (Tina Fey) arrives in a war zone. Then, the film darkens as it touches on the corruption of the expatriate community and the seduction of war reporting.

Surprisingly, Tina Fey can act in a dramatic role. Being comic with a straight face, facing danger, fending off romeos, and falling in love. In the end, Kim Baker rediscovers herself and returns home.

The film deals superficially with the horror faced by Afghan civilians and the root causes of the insurgency. However, this is the story of a white woman in a foreign land.

Overall, the film was predictable but lightly touches the soul. Credit to the editor for walking the difficult line between entertainment and horror. The rest of the cast did a creditable job.