Often it happens that the title of a film fails to adequately communicate a given motion picture's subject matter and the film's advertising poster and theatrical trailer provide little additional clarity. If you'll kindly permit me, I shall clarify the title and advertising for the 2016 film "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (R, 1:52). Since the mid-1950s, transportation industries and military forces throughout the western world have used a spelling alphabet called the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. Within this system, each letter of our Latin alphabet is spoken as a specific word beginning with that letter, so as to avoid confusion (especially over various forms of electric and electronic communication) between similar-sounding letters like "B" and "D", "F" and "S" or "M" and "N". The phonetic letters Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot, for example, represent the Latin letters "W", "T" and "F". Combined as an acronym, "WTF" is often used today as an expression of extreme surprise, incredulity, anger, or some combination thereof, e.g., "WHAT THE F(bleep)?!?" (Ya feel me?) Accordingly, it is in this context that the film "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" refers to the experience of a westerner becoming personally involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, popularly known as the War in Afghanistan or the Afghanistan War. It is also instructive to note that this film is oft identified as a war comedy, a label supported by the prominent image of popular comedienne Tina Fey on the movie poster and by the video clips and narration used in the theatrical trailer. In reality, however, this film is more of a drama than a comedy, a fact which should not necessarily imply a lesser degree of enjoyment in watching this film. (This ends the lesson. Here begins the plot summary.)
WTF indeed! Living and working in a war zone is no joke. And it's not just the constant danger that gets you wanting to look to the heavens and shout those three letters (or the words they represent). It's also the culture shock, some of the ways that the military and other outsiders do things over there, some of the people you meet and work with, etc. It's all this and more that confounds, frustrates, infuriates and eventually motivates cable news reporter Kim Barker and also leads her to find the humor in the midst of any number of situations that most people would consider anything but funny. As an actress, Fey had help, as did screenwriter Robert Carlock and co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. This film is loosely based on the 2011 quirky and darkly comedic memoir "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan" by former Chicago Tribune South Asia bureau chief / reporter Kim Barker.
As Barker, we see Fey volunteering for an assignment as a war correspondent in Afghanistan. She has a steady boyfriend (Josh Charles), but she nevertheless feels like she's stuck in a rut and she needs a change. Her arrival in Afghanistan is quite the culture shock as she has to get used to wearing a head scarf whenever she's around the locals and is forced to "fix" her bright orange camera bag before she's allowed in a military vehicle. She gets help adjusting from Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie), the only other female reporter in the area, and from interpreter Fahim Ahmadzai (Christopher Abbott), a bodyguard (Stephen Peacocke) and a video guy (Nicholas Braun). Soon, Kim establishes a good working relationship with local Marine commander General Hollanek (Billy Bob Thornton) and she starts to do some gutsy reporting, gets some excellent stories on the air and even starts to enjoy herself.
Kim's steep learning curve, however, is just the beginning of her challenges. Her gutsy reporting endangers herself and others, but she continues to take greater and greater risks to get the story. Then there's the problem of getting air time for her stories. She does excellent work, but as the Iraq War heats up, she finds herself covering what becomes something of a forgotten war. Still, she keeps plugging away. Her initial three-month-long commitment to her assignment becomes much longer, sucking her more and more deeply into a "new normal", which is actually anything but, and puts a steadily increasing strain on her relationship with her boyfriend back home. The separation isn't easy on Kim either. She finds herself attracted to her bodyguard, pursued by a Scottish photojournalist (Martin Freeman) and stalked by a high-ranking Afghan official (Alfred Molina) who wants to trade information for sex. Eventually, Kim has to make tough choices about her relationships, her work and her future.
"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is indeed a war comedy, but it's much more than that. Although a few small details don't ring true, most of this film looks and feels very authentic. If you've ever wanted to know what it might be like to be in or around the military on a deployment – without actually worrying about bullets and IEDs – this movie is for you. Yet, rather than a story filled with battles and danger, in between the few but well-done intense moments, Movie Fans will experience much more than they might expect by seeing the story through Kim's eyes and in the context of her personal journey. Casting Fey in the starring role ensures that the film remains true to the spirit of the book, and that the audience will be entertained by her usual wry, although toned-down humor. WTF is a comedy, but better. "B+"
