'ASTRONAUT' ENTERS SEMI-AMUSING ORBIT.

Byline: Bob Strauss

Film Critic

Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is, technically, a rancher. He was pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut when his daddy ate a bullet. So Charlie had to quit training and go try to save the family homestead in Story, Texas.

Many years later, he hasn't done a very good job of that; foreclosure is imminent. But his otherworldly ambitions are in full swing. With the help of his 16-year-old son Shepard (Max Thieriot) and the slightly qualified support of his waitress wife Audie (Virginia Madsen), he's built an Apollo-vintage rocket ship in the barn and plans to launch himself into outer space any day now.

"The Astronaut Farmer" is a strange breed of achieve-your-goal cinema, one that seems to exaggerate and criticize the subgenre's inherent Americana (we first meet Charles wearing a spacesuit on horseback, riding after a wandering calf). The cast acknowledges the absurdity of Charlie's endeavor enough times to make you think that the Farmer family is, at its core, sane.

But when pressure from the government and media comes down, "AF" turns into an ode to sticking together against the outsiders so Dad can do this wonderfully asinine -- not to mention dangerous -- thing. The kids are supposed to learn that giving up is a bad thing, if pop doesn't blow them all up in the process. And despite hints that the filmmakers may have something a little more realistic up their sleeves, manipulating audience emotion in the easiest, if least logical, way is the main agenda here, as in all films with this theme.

Still, there's enough eccentricity and coy humor in "AF" to keep it fresh for a while -- and to identify it as a Polish brothers production. Twins Michael (who directed and co-scripted) and Mark (also wrote, and plays a bemused FBI agent in the picture) have been responsible for such very odd, very indie efforts as "Northfork" and "Twin Falls, Idaho." While this is a much more conventional effort, their subtle wit and feel for smalltown behavior gives "AF" a common-sensical veneer. That helps ground the story a little, though it ultimately can't get its head out of the clouds.

"Rocky Balboa" fans will probably buy every minute of "Astronaut Farmer," however.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

[e-mail]

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER - Two and one half stars

(PG: language, children in jeopardy)

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Max Thieriot.

Director: Michael Polish.

Running time: 1 hr. 44 min.

Playing: In wide release.

In a nutshell: A rancher who builds his own space ship seems to have a few interesting twists on the follow-your-dream movie formula. But, really, nah.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Billy Bob Thornton pursues his lifelong outer-space dream in "The Astronaut Farmer."