1. PeniR.

   10

   This was such a sweet family movie and holy cow, BRUCE WILLIS is in it!

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
2. MarkB.

   8

   Disturbia is only the most current example of a decades-old trend: several times a year (at least), Hollywood tries, with varying degrees of success, to resurrect Alfred Hitchcock. Not surprising; the techniques he invented, polished or perfected aren't THAT hard to learn and replicate, however mechanically...but comparatively speaking, very few moviemakers past or present have tried to do a Frank Capra film. That's just as well: most attempts are either loaded with more unnecessary sugar than Jeff Goldblum filled his coffee cup with in The Fly, or they take the opposite tack, trying to appear hip by overbalancing the necessary sentiment with blatant nastiness masquerading as edge. (Yes, Adam Sandler, I'm talking to you. I've seen Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy and Click. Please stop urinating on the great man's grave.) The Astronaut Farmer gets it almost completely right. Many reviewers and posters have noted would-be astronaut and currently-is farmer Charles's ego- and megalomania, but these are personality characteristics that also comprise part of the makeup of Capra's greatest and most unforgettable heroes: Longfellow Deeds, Jefferson Smith and George Bailey. They're good guys but not always nice guys; the first two are a little too free with a left hook at times, and when you watch It's A Wonderful Life again note just how badly George treats not only his youngest daughter's teacher but also, years before, the guy who was dancing with his future wife. Any viewer over the age of 6 can automatically recognize that Charles Farmer's eagerly, elaborately planned trip through space absolutely cannot happen--scientifically, legally, financially and from hundreds of other standpoints--but then, one could also say the same about a kid finding a cute alien in his backyard, or a lonely bachelor stumbling onto a mermaid who's totally enamored of him, or of Charles Bronson sending the entire criminal population of both New York and Los Angeles to mugger hell. That's why they're called fantasies, folks, and why movies like this are so irresistable for those of us who never went for that degree, tried out for the minor leagues or went to that American Idol audition: if Charles can achieve a literally impossible dream, then there's hope for us, too. Billy Bob Thornton, taking a welcome break from his recent "slimeball trilogy" of Bad Santa, Bad News Bears and School for Scoundrels, is a wonderfully gentle, likable everyman-with-dreams, while Virginia Madsen, as his loyal but not limitlessly patient wife Audrey, provides as warm and real a presence as she did in Sideways...and there's an unbilled guest appearance by an actor who proves himself far more capable of subtlety and nuance than his signature film roles have allowed him to demonstrate. If you're in the market for this kind of hokey-but-irresistable wish fulfillment, The Astronaut Farmer does it beautifully and with great conviction; I loved how filmmakers Mark and Michael Polish carefully included a running reference to a Lucky Charms-like breakfast cereal that later pays off in an unforgettable visual sequence. If you're not a fan, fair enough, but rather than foaming at the mouth too violently about Charles's supposed irresponsibility toward his family and creditors, I'd simply remind you of those four immortal words: It's. Just. A. Movie. And if you prefer to get your minimum cinematic requirements met by indulging in the "realistic', feel free to seek out or reexperience the well-made but pointless breast-beating of Babel, or get pummelled along with Will Smith for two endlessly depressing, disspiriting hours of the fraudulently-titled The Pursuit of Happyness (both now available on DVD). The rest of us (and judging from The Astronaul Farmer's minimal grosses, aren't many) will opt instead for this lovely, vibrant and deeply resonant rocket ride.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
3. BR.

   7

   A fun movie to watch because of silly humor and unbelievable attempts to launch a rocket into orbit. Nothing special on the attempt of direction or acting...but was fun to watch.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
4. ChadS.

   4

   Comparing "Field of Dreams" to Michael Polish's "The Astronaut Farmer" makes sense only if Kevin Costner's character built the ballpark and the children of the corn showed up to kill his family. As filmmakers of two well-received indies on their resumes ("Twin Falls Idaho" & "Northfork"), The Polish Brothers might very well be pulling a fast one on audiences, and the unsuspecting studio who financed this bizarre movie about a family under siege by their daft patriarch, masquerading as a feel good-film about following your dreams. If you're a sane and rational human being, you're rooting against Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) from blasting off into outer space. He's endangering his family's lives (a line drive-foul ball is nothing compared to a wayward rocket), and compromising the quality of his children's future(should they escape the path of that wayward rocket). Audrey (Virginia Madsen) appears so nonchalant about her husband's potential for instantaneous incineration, you wonder if there's a million-dollar payoff(in case of accidental death) on some unseen life insurance policy. When she tells Charles that people think his subordinates belong to a cult, that she and the children have been brainwashed; you think(and this is why the film is subversive and perhaps, self-aware), yes, I do agree with the townsfolk's assessment that Audrey's been drinking the farmer's kool-aid for far too long. If the filmmakers' intent were to make an inspirational film about a congenial sociopath, "The Astronaut Farmer" is an unqualified success. What occurs as the end credits roll has the unmistakable appearance of having been tacked on(the extra scene runs contrary to the information we're given), you suspect, after test audiences registered what I registered as "The Astronaut Farmer" faded to black; that Charles Farmer is a manipulative, narcissistic jerk.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

See all 20 User Reviews