The Astronaut Farmer
Rated: PG 
The Astronaut Farmer is a feel-good movie that doesn’t want to work very hard to make you feel good. Depending on how bitter/jaded you are is going to correspond to how you feel when you leave this film (I’m a film critic so nothing short of babies playing with kittens is going to bring joy into my cold dead heart). The story follows Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thorton), a man who builds his own rocket and wants to launch himself into space. This dream has cost him over $600,000 in debt but not the love of his family. The film follows Farmer as he rushes to launch before the bank can seize all his assets and leave his family destitute. The film makes a little addition to the “dream-follower” tale by including Farmer’s family and showing how their combined strength gives Charlie strength...along with a giant sack of money along with a montage. Plot massagers such as the one I just mentioned are what cheapen the film’s overall tale. It’s hard to see a character’s wit, strength, character, and tenacity when the film allows the plot and supporting characters to remove any plausible obstacles from the character’s path. I have to throw huge praise towards Thorton and Virgina Madsen (who plays Mrs. Farmer) for putting so much love and charm in their characters. Without it, Charlie would be a selfish prick who might as well be throwing the family’s money away at the track (at least then there would be some possibility of a return) and his wife would be the enabler who fails to convey a father’s responsibility first and foremost to his family. Farmer is especially frustrating because rather than explore the conflict of a one family member’s dream vs. the needs of his family, the film chooses to sidestep the problem with a deus ex machina (although I don’t know if it still counts as a deus ex machina if it’s painfully predictable). I saw this film with an audience who applauded at the end so The Astronaut Farmer may be just the feel-good film you need if you’re feeling blue. Personally, I’ll stick with the just-as-rewarding babies-n’-kittens. Words by |