The Astronaut Farmer (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
'The Astronaut Farmer' (no, not the idiotic title that was 1999's Astronaut Wife) is a drama written & directed by Michael Polish. Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a former astronaut-in-training, gave up his dream to go into outer space when his family farm was in jeopardy. Determined to travel in space, he builds his own space craft in his barn! Of course, NASA & the United States government will try to stop him. 'Astronaut Farmer' has warm intentions. But it's boring & inherently implausible. Not a good combination.
Since his childhood, Charles Farmer wished to be an astronaut. Life in Texas is good, but it's his 'way of life' which prevented his dream for happening. He borrows hundreds of thousands of dollars from his local bank & creates his own spacecraft. His ranch is mortgaged 6x over. Everyone except his wife, Audrey (Virginia Madsen), Shepard (Max Thieriot), 2 other children, and his father-in-law (Bruce Dern), thinks he's absolutely insane. They have faith that he'll reach his insurmountable goal. But obstacles pile-up. He gets the attention of the government when making inquiries about buying 10,000 pounds of fuel for his rocket. with NASA, the gov't, & the media hounding him like a dog, can he stay focused and take-off for the stratosphere?
I'm all for a positive movie; I'm all for a unique movie (Charles' dream certainly is). It's important to chase your dreams & never give up. It's not a downer of a film, by any means. It's an old-fashioned, lighthearted pleaser (or tries to). But this is a fantasy movie of the worst kind. As previously mentioned, it has warm intentions, but takes itself way too seriously. And with the exception of a thrilling climax in the sky, most of the film quietly, drearily, cornily drolls along.
The movie fails for me because it lacks plausibility, & lacks an in-depth explanation of how he's able to build and fly his rocket(s). The difficult challenge of building one (no less two) is made to look way too easy for Charles. 'The Astronaut Farmer' also fails because the mushy family moments seem entirely processed and non-organic. The acting could have been better (from Billy Bob, Virginia Madsen, and the child actors). The 'heart' of the film is Charles' family. But conveying that heartwarming feeling is a struggle here. Nothing about the family, the plot, or the execution wowed me (including an awful sequence where Charles crashes one of his rockets). Nice try, but this is a mild flop.
Since his childhood, Charles Farmer wished to be an astronaut. Life in Texas is good, but it's his 'way of life' which prevented his dream for happening. He borrows hundreds of thousands of dollars from his local bank & creates his own spacecraft. His ranch is mortgaged 6x over. Everyone except his wife, Audrey (Virginia Madsen), Shepard (Max Thieriot), 2 other children, and his father-in-law (Bruce Dern), thinks he's absolutely insane. They have faith that he'll reach his insurmountable goal. But obstacles pile-up. He gets the attention of the government when making inquiries about buying 10,000 pounds of fuel for his rocket. with NASA, the gov't, & the media hounding him like a dog, can he stay focused and take-off for the stratosphere?
I'm all for a positive movie; I'm all for a unique movie (Charles' dream certainly is). It's important to chase your dreams & never give up. It's not a downer of a film, by any means. It's an old-fashioned, lighthearted pleaser (or tries to). But this is a fantasy movie of the worst kind. As previously mentioned, it has warm intentions, but takes itself way too seriously. And with the exception of a thrilling climax in the sky, most of the film quietly, drearily, cornily drolls along.
The movie fails for me because it lacks plausibility, & lacks an in-depth explanation of how he's able to build and fly his rocket(s). The difficult challenge of building one (no less two) is made to look way too easy for Charles. 'The Astronaut Farmer' also fails because the mushy family moments seem entirely processed and non-organic. The acting could have been better (from Billy Bob, Virginia Madsen, and the child actors). The 'heart' of the film is Charles' family. But conveying that heartwarming feeling is a struggle here. Nothing about the family, the plot, or the execution wowed me (including an awful sequence where Charles crashes one of his rockets). Nice try, but this is a mild flop.