Product: Race to Space (Region 2) (2002)
Rating: 5.0
Finally - a family movie done _right_.
Okay, so this is one of those A-Boy-And-His-Dog/Cat/Horse/Space Alien type movies. (In this case, the mammal in question is Mac the chimp, the first US critter to make it up in space.) So, some of the plot details are gonna be a given: the boy, Billy, and Mac form a deep bond almost instantaneously; the boy's father, a German scientist now working for NASA, is distant and removed from him; the bad guy government agent is willing to do anything to stop the rocket launch from succeeding, even if it will hurt Mac.So, okay. A few overly-used plot conventions. But what movie _doesn't_ have overly-used plot conventions? And this remains one of the very, very few family movies I've seen done _right_. The boy, Billy, gets to help both the training of Mac and will later "save the day" - but we have no annoying, attempting-to-be-humorous scenes of Billy brillantly thwarting the sunglasses-wearing evil agents of Doom. Nor does he get free reign around NASA to do whatever he wants. His father - brillantly portrayed by James Woods, who does a surprisingly excellent German accent - is not a horrible father who cares more about his work than his son; he's a normal enough guy who still misses his wife who died three years ago and is trying, _really_ trying, to do the right thing by his son. The movie is moved along with decent speed, having more than its fair share of amusing moments ("Why do you people continually try to kill my son?") without losing the realism tone.And best of all: the ending. *WARNING: SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!* Billy's father does _not_ fall madly in love with the beautiful doctor and trainer of Mac, to be followed by marriage and a once-again perfectly nuclear family for Billy. Nope. Billy finds a mother figure again in Mac's vet, but Billy's father ain't over his wife yet, and there is no corny, unrealistic romance between the two good doctors. Real life doesn't _work_ that way all the time; and it was nice to be reminded that you can have a happy ending without Daddy getting re-married. It would have totally ruined the mood of the film, not to mention Woods' character, to do something so artifical. And they didn't, and it worked. *END SPOILER ALERT*.This was a really well-done family movie that I recommend to any James Woods fan; but also to anyone looking for well-done, well-written entertainment the _whole_ family can enjoy. Rarely corny and always down-to-earth, this is a good movie. If you get a chance to see it in your area - see it. You won't be disappointed.