Long Shot is a terrible title for a not-so-terrible movie. I won’t mention too much more about the title other than to say that it’s a difficult title to remember and to associate with a film about a Secretary of State (who isn’t really a long shot) and her political campaign and run for the presidency after the incumbent president decides that he won’t be seeking reelection. Nevertheless, Jonathan Levine’s political rom-com (50/50, The Night Before) packs in the laughs while cutting into today’s political landscape just enough to be edgy but not so over the top that it will divide audiences. Long Shot may not be remembered for its title. Still, it will be remembered for its intelligent, timely writing, witty banter, crunch-worthy predicaments, and solid performances from its two leads.

Intelligent, ambitious, and successful. US Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron – Tully, Young Adult) is the perfect combination of brains and beauty. When incumbent President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk – AMC’s Breaking Bad, AMC’s Better Call Saul) announces that he will not be pursuing reelection so that he can focus on his movie career, the door opens for Charlotte to become the first female President of the United States. Her assistants, Maggie (June Diane Raphael) and Tom (Ravi Patel) believe they know what it takes to get her into the White House. The country loves her, and she scores super high in all different dimensions, except for when it comes to humor, where, while still above average, is an area for our growth.

Enter Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen – Take This Waltz, Knocked Up), a left-wing, rule-breaking, marijuana-smoking journalist recently unemployed after quitting the Brooklyn-based newspaper that conservative media mogul Parker Wembley has just bought up. Instead of letting him wallow in self-pity, Fred’s best friend Lance (O’Shea Jackson Jr. – Straight Outta Compton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) takes him to a political convention where Boys II Men will perform. There, Fred and Charlotte meet. When they were younger, a 15-year-old Charlotte babysat a 12-year-old Fred. Of course, he remembers. His babysitter became Secretary of State. However, Charlotte also remembers Fred. The two reconnect for a few moments at the concert, where she tells him that she has seen some of his work and ultimately hires him to be her new speechwriter. She trusts his instincts, believes his writing has the right amount of humor to connect her to the American people, and likes that the two see eye to eye on important issues. Fred feels the same.

The two quickly become attached, much to the dismay of Maggie and Tom. Their friendship slowly builds into something more, and Charlotte’s team thinks it could derail the campaign since Fred is thought of as not being her romantic equal. The public reveres her, whereas Fred is thought of as a loser. Nevertheless, Charlotte is happy and believes that their relationship won’t be a deterrent to the election. Fred has Charlotte’s back throughout her campaign, except for one of her “Trees, Bees, and Seas” initiatives, which continues to backfire because neither country that she needs support from aren’t backing it nor those who she needs surefire support from (i.e., President Chambers) tell her to drop the initiative altogether or they’ll threaten to support her opposition. These are familiar circumstances that each candidate in any political election must face. Fred becomes Charlotte’s reflection of consciousness. He believes she cannot alter her platform because she’ll ruffle some feathers if she doesn’t. Likewise, she cannot surrender an issue because she is getting unduly forced to do so.

This movie is funny. While there weren’t as many laughs as I expected and only a handful of belly rolls, consistency from start to finish was bent on telling a good story while keeping the audience engaged with laughter the entire time. Mission accomplished on both of those ends. Long Shot is a movie that we’d expect from Rogen. He is similar to most of the characters he portrays in other films. However, he does his thing in Long Shot and is very good at it. He’s at his best in uncomfortable situations, and Levine knew how to take advantage of that.

The surprise here was Theron. I cannot recall her in a movie that is an all-out comedy. There have been teases that she had this in her arsenal in some of her other films, but two hours of straight-out laughs are somewhat new at this stage of her career. She’s an actor who is getting better with age. While she has yet to earn an Oscar since Monster (2003) and North Country (2005), she’s had brilliant performances in Young Adult, Tully, Prometheus, and Mad Max: Fury Road. She’s got at least a few more Oscar nominations coming her way. Long Shot will introduce her to a whole new group of characters.