ReviewLong Shot film review: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen in smart political satire that gives way to vulgar romantic comedy

3/5 stars

The first hour of Long Shot unspools as a tough-minded, if unlikely, satire which homes in on many of the hot-button political and social issues that are filling the pages of US newspapers.

After that, it turns into a formulaic romantic comedy tainted by unnecessary crudity and vulgarity.

That’s a shame. Director Jonathan Levine exhibits surprisingly tight control over the satirical elements, generating a lot of laughs along the way.

But he allows everything to plummet to the absolute bottom as soon as the romance begins.

Seth Rogen plays Fred Flarksy, a dedicated left-wing investigative journalist who works for the New York alternative press, exposing corporate corruption and Republican Party misdeeds.