***

(R, 2:05)

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen make a sparkling comedic duo in “Long Shot,” an unconventional romantic comedy about a sleek politician and a schlubby journalist that is more than its superficial premise.

Rogen’s character Fred Flarsky is a suffer-no-fools politics reporter for a Brooklyn newspaper who is introduced trying to infiltrate a white nationalist group for a story. He’s idealistic but angry, fulminating against Republicans, people who make concessions, the wealthy and so on. He quits his job when a Fox News-like media conglomerate buys his paper.

This puts him on a track to reconnect with Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Theron), a superstar who gets as much attention for her good looks as anything else. She works for a doltish president (Bob Odenkirk) who was best known for playing the president in a television drama.

Charlotte and Fred know each other from childhood. Charlotte used to babysit Fred, who harbored a big crush on her. Charlotte, who recently decided to consider a presidential bid of her own, is charmed by this blast from the past. She hires him to punch-up her speeches with jokes that she hopes might improve her likability in the polls, upending his life as they travel the globe trying to get world leaders to sign on to her environmental initiative.

Charlotte in particular is delightfully well-drawn. Her public persona is disarmingly polished, with perfect hair, makeup and clothes, but we also see that she still needs sleep, food and exercise. Theron herself gets to cut loose in a refreshing way, showing brilliant comedic timing. The film also has a lot of fun playing with the ridiculous double standards applied to women in politics.