The heated political situation and conflicts in Kabul might not make it the easiest place to generate laughs, but Tina Fey is aiming to do just that with the new war reporter comedy drama Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, which has a first trailer online.
Focus’ Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are directing this one, which Fey’s 30 Rock collaborator Robert Carlock adapted from Kim Barker’s real-life memoir of life as a war correspondent. The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days In Afghanistan And Pakistan charts her time as a journalist in Kabul in 2002, where with no foreign languages among her skillset and precious little idea how to get between Pakistan and Afghanistan, she was thrown in at the deep end. Slowly but surely, she grew to love the region, even as she became increasingly worried about its future.
In the film, Fey is Barker, agreeing to head overseas on assignment partly so she can change what she sees as a singularly unsatisfying life and career. Upon arrival, she discovers that she’s suddenly a sex object (mostly thanks to the lack of women in the area aside from fellow correspondent Margot Robbie) and that she’ll have to navigate both the politics and the fact that it’s a war zone. It promises some typically witty Fey material and Martin Freeman as a journo who might just have a thing for her.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is out here on March 4.