Whiskey Tango Foxtrot successfully uses wit, intelligence and personable performances to create a mid-life coming of age movie within a modern-day war movie.

A decent amount of productions about war (especially those in Iraq and Afghanistan) are much of the same in idea, in structure, in their politics and in their resolutions. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot thankfully strays from the usual formula.

Based on the true-life accounts of CNN war reporter Kim Barker, this Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy Stupid Love) directed war dramatic comedy is a film that’s as personable as it is introspective, a look into how war can change the lives of not only those on the frontlines but those covering an everlasting conflict in a strange land as told by an authentic voice that’s part funny, parts moving, and indeed parts frustrating in its analysis of a war fought by many, and exploited by others.

Tina Fey is given her meatiest role yet as Barker, a discouraged journalist who seeks change in her life by volunteering to cover the war in Afghanistan. Immediately Barker finds herself in a media culture awash with booze, drugs, and sex within a media compound sheltered from a strict Islamic theology and a war without end. But she also finds purpose in her personal and professional lives.

While there is high risk that such a premise can resort to a “white woman’s burden” picture, Barker’s straightforward and authentic voice combined with Fey’s naturalistic charm create a personable and sympathetic character. Granted her actions can irritate, yet such are the breaks when dealing with a complex character.

Great supporting performances from Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman and especially Alfred Molina bring much in the way of dramatic conflict for Fey’s Baker and entertainment value for us the viewer.

Ficarra and Requa, along with screenwriter Robert Carlock (who previously worked with Fey on TV comedy 30 Rock) know how to blend the dramatic with the funny as they do so effectively here. Most impressive was that they could do so with a backdrop as tragically dramatic as a warzone, such is the strange juxtaposition of Barker’s life.