For whatever reason my disbelief just couldn’t work enough to buy into “The Astronaut Farmer”. The problem must have been the screenplay and direction since the director was also one of the writers of the screenplay. I’m all for suspending belief (I loved “ET”, “Finding Neverland” and other great films) but this one just didn’t work for me. It may be because Billy Bob Thorton is a good actor who generally portrays very realistic characters. The story was an interesting idea that may not have fit the style of the movie. Think about “Field of Dreams”, realistic yet not realistic. Whatever it was that worked for “Field of Dreams” it just wasn’t there for this movie.

The cast gives very good performances overall, my favorite being Bruce Dern who seemed to capture the feeling of what the movie should have been about. It could be the numerous implausible concepts in the movie, or the obvious choice of “Farmer” for the family’s name. If the astronaut farmer had worked part time providing for his family but in his spare time worked on the rocket it may have gone farther to draw me in. I might even venture that Billy Bob Thorton was too realistic to portray this dreamer character, he’s always great in his roles but this one didn’t ring true for me.

Don’t take me word on it, rent the movie and see what you think. There is quite a story to tell here, just adjust your expectations before watching.

2007. Directed by Michael Polish, written by Michael Polish and Mark Polish. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Tim Blake Nelson and J.K. Simmons.

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