The Astronaut Farmer

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Max Thieriot, Tim Blake Nelson, Sal Lopez, J.K Simmons, Bruce Willis

Written by: Mark and Michael Polish

Directed by: Michael Polish

Distributor: Warner Brother Pictures

Rated: PG

If produced in the bright and cheery mainstream 1960s, The Astronaut Farmer would be a feel-good family film. An ex-air force officer who leaves the astronaut training program for family reasons builds his own rocket with dreams of making it into space. It’s the type of thing Disney would’ve done in 1965, starring Jimmy Stewart or Dean Jones. Today, filmmaker Michael Polish (Northfork) thoughtfully renders a reasonably entertaining family film from a premise that seems completely oblivious to its own campiness.

Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thronton) has always dreamed of going into space, but is pulled away from NASA when his father dies. A decade later, he works a tiny free range farm in Texas. Keeping his dream alive, he has built his own fully functional Apollo-style rocket in his barn with every intention of launching. But when he contacts someone online about obtaining enough rocket fuel to launch a man into space, it draws considerable attention from the FBI. And when it becomes clear that the expenses incurred in building and fueling the rocket will result in the bank foreclosing on the farm, it draws considerable attention from his wife, Audie (Virginia Madsen).

The Astronaut Farmer’s success relies heavily on Farmer being a convincing family movie hero. This is a challenge, as the character has a lot going against him. Someone who would casually misplace his wedding ring, throw a brick through a bank window and risk his family’s well-being in pursuit of a dream that may well kill him isn’t a traditionally likeable guy. But Billy Bob Thornton almost makes the character work. Aiding him considerably is Madsen, who shows a cohesive strength in her role that serves to keep him firmly attached to his family. When Audie gets upset about things that would be grounds for divorce on this side of the movie screen, Madsen makes her forgiveness of Charles seem heroic in its own way.

Thornton and Madsen are supported by a strong cast. Max Thieriot is suitably wholesome as Charles’ son, who also serves as his ground control crew. Bruce Dern puts in a particularly iconic performance as Audie’s quiet, retired father who also lives on the farm. The most important supporting actresses in the film, however, are also its youngest. Jasper and Logan Polish play Charles’ daughters Stanley and Sunshine. In sharing his dream with them, we see Charles’ most important moments as a hero. He’s instilling in them an understanding of personal dreams that most kids never get to see in their parents. Jasper and Logan also provide the film with a cuteness factor that goes a long way toward patching up its credibility problems, but in the end, The Astronaut Farmer feels hopelessly trapped between the shiny, flat 1960s family movie it is in its heart and the complex, uplifting, contemporary family drama it aspires to be on its surface. VS