The Astronaut Farmer

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Virgina Madsen, Max Thieriot, Bruce Dern, Tim Blake Nelson, J.K. Simmons, Bruce Willis (uncredited)
Directed by: Mark Polish
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Drama
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is obsessed with reaching outer space. He builds a homemade rocket on his farm with the intent of blasting off. This angers NASA and causes the media to flock to his farmhouse. Farmer tries desperately to launch, despite overwhelming odds.

Review:

Tim: I thought this was an awful movie. What needs to happen for one to enjoy this movie is a complete, utter suspension of disbelief. I'm talking about throwing all sense of logic and common sense out the window, to embrace this tall tale of a movie. We are talking beyond ridiculous, absolutely absurd territory here. I am quite skilled at embracing things that couldn't happen in real life, but I simply could not do that here. I have limits and I have certain standards I won't compromise.

Billy Bob Thornton is decent enough, but he's not good in these family-oriented type roles. After movies like Bad Santa, it was hard to believe him in this role. Virginia Madsen was good in her smaller role, but I'd like to have seen her get more screen time. I also enjoyed seeing Bruce Willis in a small, uncredited role. Still, the cast as a whole leaves something to be desired.

While the movie may be somewhat interesting, and I appreciate the attempt to tell a story about holding onto your dreams, the film is too ridiculous to be very effective. Anyone with any level of intelligence will find this movie hard to swallow. The Astronaut Farmer is just a bad movie that takes too many liberties with the limits of reality.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 3



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bad News Bears, Friday Night Lights