Funnier than the usual Charlize Theron movie and more serious than we’d expect from Seth Rogen, Long Shot is truly hilarious, thoughtful and entertaining all the way through.

One part buddy comedy, one part social justice awareness and one part pure chemistry, Long Shot, is surprisingly smart and deeply funny. It features Charlize Theron as Charlotte Field, the U.S. Secretary of State as she is lining herself up for a run for the presidency. She’s smart, driven and gorgeous but in the misogynistic world of Washington politics it’s still an uphill battle for her to be taken seriously.

Seth Rogen is Fred Flarsky, a recently unemployed journalist trying to shake off the worst day ever with his best friend. That’s when he spots his former babysitter – now Secretary of State – at a party, which sparks a brief conversation between the two that ends in a spectacularly humiliating exit for poor Fred. He assumes that’s the end of it but Charlotte realizes that a little bit of Fred in her life might just be the thing she needs to give her a lead in the polls.

Charlotte hires Fred as a speech writer but what she gets in return is a buddy, a therapist and her own personal Jiminy Cricket. As their relationship grows, Charlotte struggles to balance doing the right thing with doing the thing that will get her elected. This creates tension between her and Fred and causes both Fred and Charlotte to reconsider what they are doing in this partnership in the first place.

There are delightful moments of genuine heartfelt acting from Rogen as he makes the most of the natural chemistry between himself and Theron. But there’s no need for fans to worry that he’s forgotten himself as there is more than enough of his off-colour humor to make this recognizable as a Rogen film

Theron, for her part, is funny and brilliant – as always. She hams it up just enough to keep pace with Rogen without making it look like she’s trying too hard. Her laughs are a genuine get and she brings a goofy sweetness to her role that makes it all so endearing.

This is a buddy flick like no other and totally worth the watch. Settle in with your favourite buddy for an utterly delightful and hilarious movie night in. You won’t regret it, not by a Long Shot.