The Astronaut Farmer

Plot synopsis:
Charles Farmer is a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and astronaut-in-training who reluctantly resigned from the space program and was discharged from the military before he could fulfill his dream of becoming a vital part of NASA. He did so in order to take over his family's failing ranch in Texas after his financially strapped father's suicide prior to the ranch being foreclosed on.
Having missed the opportunity to travel into space, he decides to build a working replica of the historic Mercury-Atlas rocket and spacecraft in the barn on his secluded ranch in the fictional town of Story, Texas, using all his assets and facing his own foreclosure of the ranch as a result. But he has done so with the ongoing support of his wife Audrey, his teenage son Shepard, and young daughters Stanley and Sunshine. When he begins making inquiries about purchasing rocket fuel, the FBI and FAA step in to investigate, and the ensuing publicity thrusts Farmer into the spotlight and makes him a media darling.
Farmer's launch is delayed by endless red tape created by U.S. government officials from the FAA, FBI, CIA, NASA and the Department of Defense, who seek to stall him beyond his deadline and force his creditors to foreclose on the farm. Farmer was counting on publicity to help him financially. He is denied the hydrazine fuel he requires, with government officials claiming he is a security risk and that it is too dangerous to allow a private citizen to launch a space vehicle. Facing financial ruin, he panics, climbs aboard, and, using a less-than-optimal substitute fuel, he somehow launches the rocket. However, after only a foot or two of vertical lift, the rocket descends back down, falls over, and horizontally blasts out of the old wooden barn where it was constructed.
Farmer nearly dies from head trauma and other injuries after his capsule is thrown from the rocket. News media, spectators and all their vehicles are nearly crushed in the process. During the months he spends recuperating, public interest in his project wanes, and while he recovers slowly, he is depressed at the failure of the project and of his dream.
Fortunately, an inheritance from her father, Hal, is unexpectedly left to Audrey after his death, which allows them to bring their debts current. Audrey, realizing how much Charles' dream means to the entire family, encourages Charles to construct another rocket, financing it with the rest of her inheritance. He is able to do so in relative privacy.
Using a ruse to distract snooping government officials, Charles succeeds in launching the rocket, while the FAA claims no such thing has occurred. As the rocket rises out of the barn, the locals and law enforcement authorities in the area are amazed to watch it rise into space. After orbiting Earth nine times and suffering a brief period of a communication blackout, Charles returns safely and is given a hero's welcome home, appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and as seen in still photos shown during the end credits.

Tags: satire

Review:
Of course you'll need to suspend your disbelief for a story that seems so far fetched, a man launching himself into space, although I have read of 2 rocket men who have attempted this same idea-- but every time you walk into a movie theater you have to surrender some logic.
When I first heard there was a movie in which my buddy Billy Bob builds a rocket in his barn, I thought for sure it must be a comedy or some sort of spoof or slapstick.
I'm giving it an 8 on the basis of pure solid family entertainment value.(If this movie were a car it would probably be a Toyota Camry)At the start of the screening, Billy Bob Thorton proudly (and accurately, IMHO) characterized this film as a feel-good Frank Capraesque popcorn flick - the sort of film that would have been on the "A" side of a double bill back in the days of his youth.Billy Bob and Virginia Madsen do terrific jobs with their characters.
I think the timelessly beautiful Ms. Madsen is particularly effective as Farmer's patient, loving, and somewhat exasperated wife.(and if I were Stephen Colbert interviewing Billy Bob Thorton, I would probably ask this question - "Virginia Madsen: hot co-star, or *the hottest* co-star?").The story and the arc of the film bring strong elements of "Field of Dreams" and "October Sky" to mind; but absent the mysticism of the former and the somewhat dysfunctional family dynamics of the latter.
As a large, tasty helping of pure western Americana I don't doubt for a minute that this film will be a huge hit in Japan.This movie pays light homage to films like "The Right Stuff" and "Apollo 13." Space fanatics, rocket scientists, and other members of the pocket-protector crowd might experience a few "oh please, you've got to be kidding" moments, but because of its charm, likable characters, and strong acting, this movie requires a lot less disbelief suspension than a film like, oh I don't know, let's say "Armageddon," for example.Speaking of baby-boomer asteroid wranglers, I was also pleasantly surprised to see Bruce Willis in a small, but key supporting role.
It was nice of him to do that.All of the other members of the well-casted supporting ensemble (including some young members of the Polish tribe) delivered solid performances as well.I won't give you a synopsis of the film here (others are better than me at that sort of thing); but I will tell you that I plan to take my wife and 4, 7, and 12 year old kids to see this film for the pure joy of watching a fun, happy, and slightly quirky movie together as a family..
While inspirational, follow your dream movies usually don't work for me, this one does, it has such an amazingly goofy charm that only the stiffest of film critics could resist it (and alas, according to that well-known movie review site, as I write this just under 40% don't get it.) If this movie in not on most 10-best lists at year-end, it is going to be one heck of a year.
The Polish brothers (director, writers) achieve that state possibly because the modest $13 million budget is still much more than they ever had and their approach is too reverential to the hero, who by any standards pursues a quixotic goal of launching himself at the risk of jettisoning his family and close friends.Charles Farmer (Billie Bob Thornton) is determined to achieve his goal in the face of losing his too well ordered and clean farm and his loving, dutiful, and way too accepting wife, Audrey (Virginia Madsen).
Only two characters ring true all the time: Farmer's son, Shephard (Max Thierot), who is cool as a teen mission controller; and an uncredited Bruce Willis, who plays an ex-astronaut friend of Farmer trying to talk him out of a potentially disastrous launch.
Billy Bob Thornton stars as the title character, a farmer who wants to go to space but faces resistance wherever he goes except for his family and even they sometimes have doubts.
A middle-aged rancher named Farmer (you know a movie's heading into seriously pretentious waters when it starts dispensing heavily allegorical names to its characters), has decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of flying into outer space.
Heck, for sheer grandiosity and technological ingenuity, Farmer's homemade rocket makes Ray Kinsella's backyard baseball stadium look like erector-set kids' stuff in comparison.In a film shamelessly bucking for the "feel-good movie of the year" stamp-of-approval, Farmer is obviously intended to be an inspirational figure, a little man with a Big Dream who is determined to make that dream come true at any and all costs and despite the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against him.
Unfortunately, in "The Astronaut Farmer," we find ourselves more often siding with the derisive skeptics and cynical killjoys from NASA, the FBI, and the nearby town - who, of course, are portrayed as the villains of the piece - than with Farmer and his preposterously supportive family who already seem to be living on another planet anyway (which tends to negate the need for any such trip in the first place).Indeed, questions of mental balance are never far from our minds when we see Farmer (well played by Billy Bob Thornton) bankrupting his ranch to finance his quest and dragging his 15-year-old son and two pre-pubescent daughters out of school so that they can function as his Mission Control team of "experts," who are going to be responsible for not only launching him into space but returning him safely back therefrom (not too much undue pressure there, eh?).
Even his wife (Virginia Madsen), who is portrayed as a relatively clear-thinking, level-headed pragmatist, is really little more than an enabler who, instead of putting the brakes on her husband's obvious foolishness, encourages him to ever more dangerous heights of certifiable insanity.The actors - Thornton, Madsen, Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, Max Thieriot - do what they can with what they've been handed, but the screenplay by Mark and Michael Polish is so filled with sappy, a-guy's-gotta-dream inspirational speeches and cued-up musical crescendos that we feel worked-over and manipulated from first moment to last.
Yet, you know a movie isn't working when, instead of rooting for the protagonist to succeed in his adventure, you find yourself hoping that some trained, licensed professional will step in and perform an intervention on him before he does serious injury to himself and his loved ones.I have been a great admirer of the Polish Brothers' work in the past - "Twin Falls Idaho," "Northfork" etc.
Even when events transpire that prove the government correct, where he could've potentially killed people it's treated like almost nothing.The moral of this story is that you should put yourself at risk, ignore your family to the extent of ruining them financially and emotionally crippling them, and do things that could potentially kill your neighbors in the pursuit of your 'dreams'..
I settled into my seat and let the magic begin.Astronaut Farmer is the story of Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thorton), a man who used to work for the military, but was forced to retire to save his family farm.
So he sets out building a rocket in his backyard, which soon draws the attention of NASA, FAA, FBI, CIA, and the press.When you go into Astronaut Farmer, be prepared to throw the laws of physics and logic out the window, as this one tries to be real, but suffers from a few flaws.
"If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing," goes the story's underlying refrain  a mantra that might sound like pure cheese were it not delivered with such note-perfect gravity by Thornton, who stars as Charlie Farmer.
Although The Astronaut Farmer feels something like a throwback to a gentler time, what makes the film work is its utter sincerity and perfect command of the overall tone.
Yes, it is preposterous, per the premise that one can build a functional rocket in ones' barn, but if we discounted movies with far fetched plots, at least half would qualify, including such greats as "Wizard of Oz" and any based on fantasy, let alone sci-fi.
Simply put, the faith/love of a family backing up the Don Quitote dream of a tinkerer father, in this case a tinkerer who builds rockets in his yard, planning to create his own manned mission into space.
But, Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) had a dream to go into space.
Those of u who have been lucky enough not to watch this till now and are craving for a "Pursue ur Dreams and don't give up hope" sort of cinema, watch October Sky. You'll get more than your money's worth.A movie like this works when you can identify with the aspirations of the lead and sympathies with his limitations and difficulties faced in achieving them.
Third, he makes his 15 yr old bald son controller of his mission, a work that's usually done by people double PHd in aeronautics or its like...Fourth, he decides to launch his rocket out of his barn, as if that wont incinerate his the damn barn, his house, ranch, his cattle and his family who watch from a few meters away from a rickety trailer!
Characters are fleshed out so you really care about them; their fully realized scripts demonstrate how impossible dreams are achieved in a way that makes you want to believe; they don't cheat the audience."Astronaut Farmer" is just a terribly lazy script.
The movie is basically about a family who believes in their father's dream to go in space and they support him 98% of the time.
It will rip itself apart due to the concussion reflecting off the ground if you tried that.The laughingly named "Farmer" character (Oh hey & did you guess he's a farmer, oh how funny!) that Billy Bob Thronton plays is selfish to the extreme & places his entire family & their future in jeopardy for his own self centered reasons (which fits in the Ronald Reagan's vision of America for sure).I admit to one thing, I didn't see the end.
The plot is about a man played by Billy Bob Thornton and he builds a homemade rocket that he plans to launch into space.
Billy Bob Thornton does well as an ex-astronaut who builds a rocket in his barn(!) This may sound like the perfect recipe for a comedy but, the film is utterly serious.
The key here is my family, that a big score for being able to sit through a movie these days with my son and husband and each of us being able to speak highly of it in the end.Being a space enthusiast for years it was enjoyable to watch a man and his family pursue his dreams of orbiting the earht without the NASA price tag.
Especially if that dream is expensive, dangerous, maybe a bit psychotic, and possibly illegal ...or all four.When a man named Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton, THE ICE HARVEST) from Texas wants to blast a space rocket out of his barn and into orbit, one might think "cool idea." But how far can one man's dream go before it becomes a damaging obsession?
His wife realizes what must be done, for without the dream her husband no longer exists.Being a HUGE Polish brothers fan (NORTHFORK is one of my all-time favorite films), I expected much from identical twins Mark and Michael, but they sadly disappointed me with THE ASTRONAUT FARMER.
Billy Bob Thornton dose a mind blowing performance in this film.Sean The Movie Guy. A feel-good fantasy.
Because as Billy Bob Thornton' s character said to a kid: "you can better know what you wanna become when you are young, otherwise somebody else might choose for you".Adults can also enjoy this feel good flick, about some crazy american farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) who is building his own real space rocket in his barn.
but as the movie devolved into trite, feel-good, sentimental mush I went from enjoyment to frustration.I know people will say this is a family film, but I like my family to have good role models - not some dreamer who pursues his desires at all expenses.
This movie will bring the whole family together and inspire young minds to a feeling that has been lost in so many other films.
If a movie is to take place in the real world, with real people, there has to be SOME semblance of plausibility in the action portrayed.No, a man cannot build and launch an Atlas rocket by himself in his barn and orbit the earth in it.
Billy Bob Thornton shines as Charles Farmer, a former military man who gave up his chance for space following a family tragedy.
Slow in spots, but held together by the twin performances of Thornton and Virginia Madsen as his wife Audrey, who come to realize Farmer's consuming dream of space was not destroying their family, but, bringing them closer together.
This film features a close knit family, a supportive wife and grand father, two little daughters who love their daddy and also his life long dream to launch into orbit with his own privately built rocket constructed on his Texas ranch.
It's probably unbelievable that a farmer, despite having graduated with engineering skills and being a former NASA astronaut, can build a homemade rocket in his backyard and launch it into space.
Building a rocket is very much possible, it's just extremely hard and any miscalculation could kill you by blowing you up on the launch or send you hurling uncontrollably through space.The Astronaut Farmer is a great movie, very well paced, and it's hardly ever boring because you're always waiting to see what Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is going to do next.
The only thing is that the son wasn't given enough screen time or dialogue, but perhaps that's just his character, who talks very little.Take no regard of the ignorant people who dismiss this film as cheesy, corny, unrealistic or morally wrong.
The film will most likely be under-appreciated by many, but for those who ever had dreams of attempting the impossible, this movie will be an inspiration.
Even with the unbelievable idea of the spaceflight, they do their best, and mostly succeed in making you believe it for that 1 and a half or so you're watching.I thought the acting was pretty well done, and the story was too.You'll enjoy the movie if you choose to accept the story and just enjoy it.Good Family Film.
Charlie Farmer(Billy Bob Thornton) was once a promising Astronaut, who almost went up in space, but couldn't because of a family tragedy.
Everyone else was kind of one-dimensional and the story was very slow.Basically, the movie is about a man who tries to launch his own rocket (with him in it) into space.
Twin brothers Michael and Mark Polish ('Northfork', 'Twin Falls Idaho', 'Jackpot') wrote and directed this work and have a style that begs indulgence on the part of the viewer, but the style is unique and consistent and is proving to be a fascinating source of art house movie making.Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is a retired military man who trained as an astronaut but retired to save his family farm in Texas.
He dreams of a life as an astronaut and with the encouragement of his wife Audie (Virginia Madsen), grandfather Hal (Bruce Dern), son Shepard (Max Thieriot) and other children, Farmer has built a rocket and a space ship, going against all odds to be the first citizen astronaut.
But you just might feel like believing a bit more in the power of dreams at the end of the movie than you did at the beginning, and for me, that was worth it..
Determined not to be a quitter like his dad, he keeps fighting overwhelming odds to build his rocket.Now this, combined with the acting and directing skills of Billy Bob Thornton, gave a great feeling to the movie.
The result is an interesting and moving drama about pursuing your dreams and never giving up.Charles Farmer, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is a soft-spoken, wellliked, small town family man who has spent years building a rocket ship in his barn.
An enjoyable little family movie not intended to be great film literature.
Part of it is that it is so well-acted, but mostly it is because unlike many modern sentimentalist films such as "Cinderella Man" or "Little Miss Sunshine", it asks only to be taken on its own terms and not as competition for more artistic, cynical fare such as "Mystic River" or "The Departed".Billy Bob Thornton stars as Charlie Farmer, who was in training to be an astronaut when his father committed suicide and he had to leave the program to take over the family's Texas ranch.
{come to think of it, cross your fingers.}) in the other genuflection to the Hollywood Left, Thornton, responding to a rumor that violent force will be used by the US government to prevent his launch, says something like, ~they're pretty good at killing people with dreams.~ (conspiracy theories, anyone?) the ever-radiant Virginia Madsen (why hasn't her career been at least as big as, for example, Jessica Lange's?) plays Thornton's wife, who stands by her man.
"If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing." These are the words of Billy Bob Thornton in Astronaut Farmer, and thus the message behind the movie.
This movie is a wonderful feel good film with great heart.
Not necessarily a bad thing, just kind of disappointing since there are so few creative forces in Hollywood these days.Billy Bob Thornton stars as Charles Farmer and likable, small town family man who is chasing his dream of flying his handmade rocket into space.
Billy Bob Thornton plays an ex-astronaut trainee, now a Texas rancher, who never made it to space, so he builds a rocket in his barn.
Boy, if all of us could only have such a supporting spouse and great kids like "Charles Farmer" had in this movie.