The Astronaut Farmer (DVD)

I risked watching The Astronaut Farmer based on our very own Laremy Legel's review, a review in which he says it "could have been one of the best family movies in ages." This comment is giving this little film that couldn't far too much credit. The Astronaut Farmer looked cheesy to me from the very first time we debuted the one sheet. Sorry, the image of Billy Bob Thornton sitting atop a horse in his astronaut uniform does not present an image of a film I am lining up to see, and I should have just stayed away like I originally intended (damn you Laremy).

The film tells the story of Charlie Farmer (Thornton), a small town farmer that always wanted to be an astronaut (see where the clever title came from). Yet he didn't make it and his dreams of becoming a space cadet never worked out. However, this didn't stop Charlie from chasing his dream, which in this case means putting his family, consisting of a wife and three kids, in debt up to $600,000 and building his very own rocket in his barn.

I know what you are going to say, "This guy is crazy." I thought the same thing, but he convinced me he wasn't when the bank threatened to seize his land if he didn't pay his debt. Farmer responds to this by throwing a brick through the bank's window. Oh, wait, that is something a crazy person would do.

Unfortunately, The Astronaut Farmer is a film in which you must accept the inadequacies of its protagonist, but I am one viewer that simply can't. It is one thing to chase your dream, it is another to stake the lives and future of your family on flying a rocket ship out of your barn and into space. For god sake, get another hobby... chase another dream Charlie!

The DVD special features are a bit lackluster as well including a gag reel that is far from funny as it uses honking sounds anytime someone curses and then a making-of featurette and a conversation with NASA astronaut David Scott. None of these features are really worth the time, and it seems like the bit with the astronaut was simply put in there to legitimize the movie's story. Saying while it might not be accurate it is at least heart-warming. I would have to disagree with that last bit.

The Astronaut Farmer has a couple of moments that could have been good, but the overall silliness of the storyline makes this a movie to skip.