The American Astronaut

Went to an advance screening of this, figuring it would be something different. Instead I was confronted with a black & white outer-space "drama" full of 5th grade humor (lots of jokes about body parts & bathrooms), which made only sporadic sense, and in which characters broke into songs that sound like they were written to be intentionally annoying (like a song about a party, where the guy just keeps screaming "party" for most of it). What is the point? The film looks original, and has some original concepts, but they're sabotaged by the incredible inanity and (what seems intentional) incoherence of the script. EW said it was like a "Laurel & Hardy movie directed by Dali" but what it really is is a David Lynch movie directed by Tom Green. (saw at least 6-7 people walk out, too).

I saw this film at the International Film Series in Boulder, Colorado, and was initially bowled over by its inventiveness. Even though this appears it's his first film, Cory McAbee plunges us into a bizarre world with supreme confidence. The budget is low but it doesn't seem like the filmmakers sweated it - they spent the money on production design and great costumes rather than trying to do convincing spaceships-flying-through-asteroids shots. It reminded me of Eraserhead more than any other movie - using lighting, props and sound effects to set the tone. But, ultimately, what is this movie other than a showcase for the band's music? The musical interludes occasionally drive the whole film to a grinding halt. They brought me out of the movie and I got very conscious of sitting in a movie theater restlessly waiting. The songs are funny but they frequently have very little to do with the action of the movie. I wonder if all of them were written for the film or if the band just wanted to put in some of their regular songs. And, the ending was very unsatisfying. I mean, I definitely feel like I got my money's worth but after sitting through an amazingly creative patchwork of sci-fi serial/western/off-off-Broadway musical you'd think they could have summed it up with one more setpiece. There seems to be a totally-unforeseen mini-revival of the musical going on nowadays and if you ask me, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the only film that's really pushed the genre forward into new territory.

'The American Astronaut' promises much more than it delivers, I'm sorry to say. It has all the hallmarks of a cult movie - comedy musical western with a rock score - but falls short of what it could have been.

Cory McAbee (director, writer, star), who doesn't come across as particularly interesting as himself - guesting at a screening of this recently - plays Curtis, the astronaut of the title who wins a dance contest on Ceres, gets given a job to do, and - well, it's downhill from there, really.

As Professor Heiss, Rocco Sisto comes across as very Ed Wood, moaning about everyone ignoring his birthday, reducing people in his wake to piles of sand. Greg Russell Cook is 'the boy who actually saw a woman's breasts', a bored cutie in a Greek God uniform; while Tom Aldredge is a bitter old man in the pub on Ceres who tells the long-winded, and rather silly 'hertz doughnut' joke.

The main premise of this messy film is to showcase the real-life band (made up from McAbee, the producer, and the Ceres house musicians) who wrote and perform the score. There's a lot of promise in the musical numbers - one performed in the men's room (now, that was funny); one performed in silhouette in a shed floating in space; one performed by 'the Boy' on stage; one performed by Professor Heiss after a murderous spree, one performed by fat dull Eddie the barman on Ceres, etc. etc.

The photography, when it isn't being 'look how low budget we are' (any of the shots with the space ship), is pretty good. The film appears in black and white and uses minimal sets and cheap costume to move its (limited) story along. But it could have been a lot more far-out and wacky. I came away feeling just a bit disappointed and felt that the film-makers themselves lost interest a fair way from the end. Pity.

...and still do.

Sure, this is at least partially a vehicle for the music of the Billy Nayer Show, but so what? If that is all it is, it is still the best music video I've ever seen. But it is much more. You can read many other reviews about the genre combining efforts, but even beyond that, the genre it becomes is something that I believe has been dreamed of but never done before with this much success. While not stooping to the lowest common denominator, it does have something for everybody, if one is patient with its refusal to engage in conventional entertainment trappings. After sitting in a screening class for a student run film festival for two years in a row, and seeing the often failed attempts at surrealism, humor, post-modern poetics, and just basic storytelling from the many entries from around the world, I have to applaud the successes in all of the above here. I look forward to more works from this talented crew, and I also recommend their early works. You can get them on this nifty DVD I just bought, which you can get on their website (no, I am not a promotor for the movie or the band... otherwise this review would be even more glowing, and probably unbelievable). The two and a half minute animated musical simply titled "Billy Nayer" is possibly my favorite, but "the Ketchup and Mustard Man" is quite an accomplishment, and stylistically anticipates "American Astronaut," while "The Man on the Moon" could almost be its prequel.

Thanks for existing, McAbee and co. And hurry up with that DVD release of this movie!!

I saw the film at the Toronto Film Festival in 2001 and loved it. Just rented the DVD and it's a treat. Not only did I enjoy the film even more than the first viewing, but I immediately rewatched it via the Director's Commentary. The commentary makes you love the film exponentially more if only because it's done in a unique way: Cory McAbee narrates at a live screening, taking questions from the audience. McAbee is uniquely eloquent in his commentary. I've heard many commentaries that simply leave me numb, praying for narcolepsy to strike. Instead, the heart and mind of a true Renaissance man were revealed, imbuing the film (and the music) with new life (just when you thought you couldn't love a film more). There are some perfect cinematic scenes in this film. I watch literally hundreds of films a year and it's rare that I'm surprised by some narrative trope but to my joy, Hey Boy! is there to give me new faith in cinema. However impressed I was with Cory McAbee before, now I'm awestruck. And it's always a treat to hear Brian Eno's name a few times in a commentary. Wow. Congratulations.