WaffleMovies.com

When I went to see The Astronaut Farmer, I was lucky enough to have the man, the myth, the legend we know as Billy Bob there live and in the flesh.  I have to admit, I was waiting for disaster to happen as he walked in like a homeless guy wandering in from the street in his own little haze, but Billy Bob is one you never want to underestimate.  In a quick speech, he won us all over with his heartfelt statement that this movie is like the kind he used to watch as a kid – a non-cynical story about dreamers trying to reach their goals.  It was enough to put a tear in your eye, and make you realize why Angelina married him.  Billy Bob rocks!    

Thornton stars as Charles Farmer – an aging farmer who once was part of the NASA training program until tragedy forced him to return home to Texas.  Now, years later, he still dreams of going into space, and, to the financial detriment of his supportive family, has started building a rocket ship to do it.  When he goes to buy the fuel, he triggers an investigation by the FAA, FBI and Homeland Security.  Now, Charles must face scrutiny from government officials who aren’t sure what he is up to, a whole host of people who don’t think he can do it, and a family that is under a great deal of pressure as he tries to make this dream come true.  

Will Charles prove them all wrong and be able to launch his rocket?  Can inspire the people of this sleepy Texas town that time forgot?

The Astronaut Farmer is an inspiring, feel good story about dreamers that lets itself go a bit too far in the final act.  Writers Michael and Mark Polish (brother Michael gets credit for directing) have created a movie everyone in the audience can relate to, and begs the audience to root on this troubled hero of a guy.  At his essence, Charles is a man who had a dream taken away from him by circumstance, responsibility, and bad luck, so he fights everyday to get it back, which makes the audience want to fight for him as obstacles are thrown up in his path – a great framework to maximize the drama and let Thornton carry the movie with his enormous talent.

Yes, The Astronaut Farmer is all about Billy Bob, which suits me just fine.  Everything he can do as an actor is on full display here, and done perfectly by a maestro of the art.  We get to watch Thornton as the righteous man fighting greedy forces (gets your blood pumping).  We watch him show us the regret Charles feels for missing out on that one great opportunity that could have changed his life (makes the tears flow from the eyes).  We let him win us over as he shows the audience Charles’s love for his family (hugs all around), and everything he does to make sure they dream bigger than this town might want or let them.  Most of all, he makes Charles into a decent man you can share a beer with, instead of some fanatical force you might not want to have access to a rocket ship.  It’s always a subtle performance that never goes too far over the top, but hits the big notes when needed.    

The Astronaut Farmer only fails when The Polish Brothers stretch it too far.  Sadly, they throw in one more obstacle, one more complication that takes away from the movie’s momentum.  The movie essentially is over when we learn whether or not Charles can launch the rocket into space, but more story is added after that, which feels forced and isn’t as believable.    

The Astronaut Farmer, much like Breach, is a movie that is very good, but could have been tweaked into being great.                

3 Waffles (Out Of 4)

The Astronaut Farmer is rated PG-13 for thematic material, language and peril 

Copyright 2007 - WaffleMovies.com

Click here to buy posters!