Review: 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' Starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, And Alfred Molina

For obvious reasons, war movies typically follow the perspective of the soldier on the ground. So "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" is immediately distinguished by its lead, a TV journalist breaking stories in Afghanistan during the mid-aughts. Tina Fey stars as as the reporter, Kim Baker (loosely based on Kim Barker, author of the memoir "The Taliban Shuffle," on which the movie is based), and she rises to the challenge of the role that requires the former “30 Rock” actor to do a lot more than just adapt her comic voice to the story's particulars.

Comedic and dramatic potential are present in equal measure in Baker's narrative and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa ("Focus," "Crazy Stupid Love") do well navigating some of the turns of her story, creating situations that allow Fey to alternate between sardonic and self-effacing wit. Odd casting decisions, however, and a script that flounders after establishing the strange “life during wartime”...