The Astronaut Farmer

The Astronaut Farmer tells the Capraesque tale of Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a brilliant former NASA trainee forced to leave the space program in order to save his family's farm. But Charles never loses his desire to become an astronaut, and over a period of several years, he builds his own rocket (out in the barn, of course). Supported by his loving wife (Virginia Madsen) and children (Max Thieriot, and Jasper and Logan Polish), Charles is on the verge of realizing his dream when the purchase of raw materials for rocket-fuel production attracts the unwelcome attention of homeland security officials. Does Charles ever get the chance to lift off? In a sense, that's not really what the movie is about, instead telling a story of a family's love and one man's devotion, and while the premise is wildly improbable (to say the least), filmmaking brothers Michael (who also directed) and Mark Polish (whose own children play the youngest Farmers) manage to make it work. The Astronaut Farmer didn't really take off at the box office, but this family-friendly drama should reach a much wider audience on DVD—and deservedly so. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions, the 29-minute “making-of” featurette “How to Build a Rocket,” nine minutes of bloopers and outtakes, and “A Conversation with NASA Astronaut David Scott” featurette (3 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid film.] (E. Hulse)