The story opens in 2006 at a party in Kabul with all the Western journalists when an explosion rocks the building and sees them all getting into action to cover the story. Kim Baker (Tina Fey) is soon in the streets of Kabul and finds herself groped by a passing Afghan. She rebukes him with a stream of clumsy profanity in Pashto. And then the movie backs up to 2003 where we find Kim in an office in New York, writing an article about corn starch or something like that. During a meeting, the news agency is seeking people to cover Afghanistan now that the veteran foreign correspondents have been moved to the Iraqi theater. Feeling her life is dreary and empty, Kim volunteers.
Though the movie takes place in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006, little is learned of the war. This is a movie about Kim. She likes the risks and is often more concerned with getting a scoop than staying safe. This gung-ho attitude wins her admirers. Most scenes are played for comedy but there are stretches of drama and violence. Several times through the movie, it is intimated that war correspondents are adrenalin junkies who put themselves at risk to get high. Kim certainly takes some risks. Is this a movie about an addict who recovers? Maybe. It isn't a movie of the Afghan War, the Taliban, or Osama bin Laden. Beyond learning a smattering of military jargon and a flavor of Afghan culture through the eyes of a Westerner, there isn't anything educational here.
Among the supporting cast, only two really merit attention. Billy Bob Thornton is excellent as the cucumber-cool general. His best moment was probably when one of his marines blew up a Toyota with an $80,000 rocket. Martin Freeman plays a Scottish photojournalist and love interest for Kim. He was the most important character besides Kim. Like her, he was eager to put his life in danger for the sake of a good story but, unlike her, he accepts that as a normal part of life.
Entertaining movie.
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