This is a war comedy-drama based on the memoirs of Kim Barker, a print journalist. Tina Fey stars as Kim Baker who, in the movie is a TV journalist and is sent to Afghanistan as a war correspondent. She is hesitant of staying early on in the movie as she realizes that most of the action has now moved to Iraq but manages to stay a lot longer as a means to escape from her dull life. Her cheating boyfriend gives her another incentive to keep herself in trying but conditions that she starts to find thrilling.The film explores her status as a woman in Afghanistan which presents its own set of problems but also helps her understand more of the country especially the women. The directors Glenn Ficara and John Requa did a decent job in portraying this amidst making the film light at heart. I do feel this movie could have done with a little more drama. The comedy in this movie is right where Tina Fey excels and it was fun watching her. I was onboard with her chemistry with Martin Freeman who plays a fictional character Iain Macklepie. Another fictional character was British correspondent, Tanya Vanderpoel, played by Margot Robbie who worked well for the movie. I liked Billy Bob Thornton the best who has a short but funny (in a wartime scenario way) role. The curious use of music for different shots in the movie, especially Iain's rescue mission was very different from other films in a good way. The use of handheld camera to show these situations in a "journalistic" way was great as well. The cinematographer Xavier Grodet deserves a mention there along with the directors.
What I did not like about the movie were the sudden jumps in the timeline which made the story harder to grasp emotionally. We have seen better examples of this in other movies. I did not feel like I was always on board with Kim's struggles and her path to finding herself. It felt uneven and sometimes moved away from a personal story that I think it was aiming to be. If you are looking for exploration of a different side of the world you won't find in this movie.
But still a fun watch.