Is there a movie you love passionately, yet no one else seems to feel as strongly about it as you do? I actually have a couple of those. One of them is The Astronaut Farmer. When it was released in February 2007, this fantasy from filmmaking siblings Michael and Mark Polish earned generally positive (but not glowing) reviews. Box office business, on the other hand, was indisputably poor; The Astronaut Farmer only made about $10 million. I tried convincing people to see it theatrically as well as when it debuted on DVD, only to get reactions along the lines of either I’ve never heard of it or Why the hell would I want to see that? (That December, I also heard refrains of You put what on your ten best list?!) For a brief time, I even wondered if I’d overhyped the picture to myself. A second viewing on DVD convinced me that, no, this really is a great, relatively undiscovered film. And so here I am again, pleading my case not just for people to see it, but to open their hearts and minds to it.
Here’s the thing: by all measures, I should have hated The Astronaut Farmer. There is not a cynical bone in this movie’s body. No grit, no darkness, no rough edges. Just a pure, wholesome tale of a guy determined to do something impossible when everyone around him is telling him to give it up. I think the sheer indulgence in fantasy is what made many people shy away from it. On the surface, The Astronaut Farmer seems corny, and heaven knows there’s nothing worse on screen than corniness.
In case you fall into the category of people who aren’t familiar, The Astronaut Farmer is the story of Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a former Air Force pilot who, for reasons beyond his control, had to drop out of NASA’a astronaut training program. Having never let go of his dream, Charlie decides to build a working rocket in the barn out back. He battles skeptics, bureaucrats, and even his own wife (Virginia Madsen) to get it done. Then he launches himself into space, with his teenage son acting as Mission Control.
I get why people sneer at this movie. Honestly, when I walked into the theater that cold February night, I was skeptical. It’s impossible to launch a space mission out of one’s backyard. There are so many logistical reasons why this could never happen that you can’t even begin to swallow the premise, right? But that’s where the Polish brothers displayed some genius. They didn’t really even try to address most of those issues, save for where Charlie gets his rocket fuel. That’s right – The Astronaut Farmer asks you to just take plausibility for granted.
That approach works for one very simple reason: Michael and Mark Polish aren’t really making a movie about a guy building a rocket in his backyard; instead, they’re making a movie about the devalued role of the “big dreamer” in today’s cynical world. Charlie Farmer’s rocket ship is, more than anything, a metaphor for history’s many ideas that must have sounded crazy but ultimately paid off. Throughout the movie, everyone tells Charlie that he’s nuts, that it can’t be done, and that he’s a fool for even trying. The sympathy of the film is with Charlie, though. It celebrates and applauds his desire to think big, to imagine something so far out of the box. The Astronaut Farmer is ultimately saying that without big dreamers, few things of note ever get accomplished, and therefore we should support those dreamers instead of scoffing at them. With great subtlety and a sly sense of humor, it reminds us that there was a time when our society actually admired those who took risks. So many of our historical/cultural heroes would be called kooks if they were starting out today, simply because they dared to follow their dreams and do what others said couldn’t be done.
The Astronaut Farmer is a Frank Capra movie for the new millennium, a celebration of those who refuse to take “no” for an answer. I love that about it. Thornton is great, there are moments of effective comedy and suspense, and Elton John’s “Rocket Man” is used to glorious effect. Everything combines to form a movie that I find rapturously entertaining. Yes, it’s sentimental and old-fashioned, but that’s on purpose. I firmly believe that The Astronaut Farmer is a cult movie waiting for its cult to discover it. Turn off all your skepticism and approach the film as the metaphor it is. Don’t be like all the naysayers in Charlie Farmer’s life, finding fault simply because criticism is easier than belief; be like Charlie himself, open to the possibilities that don’t easily reveal themselves on the face of things. If you can do that, I’m willing to bet that you’ll agree with me that The Astronaut Farmer is a movie to cherish.
Next time: The funniest movie I’ve ever seen, which I can quote almost from beginning to end.
