Just Picture It Now: Are you a Dreamer? The Astronaut Farmer is a must see!

I don't get to watch many movies these days, other than ones that my son Brian (4) and daughter Brittany (6) want to watch. We must have the entire Pixar collection here at the house for Brian which include "Toy Story", "Finding Nemo", "Monsters Inc.", "The Incredibles", and the latest release this past summer, "Cars". Of course Brittany enjoys all things Disney Princess including movies like "Cinderella","The Princess Diaries", and "Beauty and The Beast".

On Friday when I picked up Brian from Pre-K he had been asking if we could go to the movie store all week, and since he had good week at school I offered to take him to the movie store to pick out a movie for the weekend. Based on his resounding "YEEEEAAH!", I concluded that this was not only something he would enjoy, but was extremely excited about. So we headed to the movie store.

When we got there, I figured he wanted to head straight for the "kids section", which we intended on doing, but on the way Brian stopped dead in his tracks and yelled "Daddy, a spaceman in a horse!" He immediately picked up the DVD and handed it to me, the decision was made right then and there that he wanted to take home "The Astronaut Farmer". I barley remember seeing some trailers for this movie, so I didn't really know if this was something that would be something Brian should even watch let alone enjoy. Typically, I'm very cautious obviously when it comes to movies that I allow my kids to watch, so I flipped the cover over and read what this story was all about.

The first thing I noticed about the back cover was the name of the rocket, "The Dreamer". There was a picture of the main character played by Billy Bob Thornton, saying goodbye to his family before he launched into space in a rocket he has build in his barn on a farm in Texas. I then went on to read description of the movie which stated:

"All systems are "Go" for Charles Farmer. He's faced bank foreclosure, neighborhood naysayer's and a government alarmed by his huge purchase of high-grade fuel, but now he's ready to blast into space inside the homemade rocket he built in his barn. Just be home in time for dinner, Charlie. Billy Bob Thornton portrays Charlie in this charmer about chasing dreams...and about what it means to be a family. 10,000 pounds of rocket fuel alone can't lift Charlie into the heavens. He needs a launch/recovery crew, and he has one of the best: his wife (Virginia Madsen) and children, dreamers all. They have liftoff. Our spirits have uplift. Gravity cannot hold down our dreams. "The Astronaut Farmer" is that kind of movie."

Honestly, I still didn't have any idea based on this description of what this movie truly meant to me as a "dreamer", but it looked innocent enough to bring home for may son so we did.

Of course, just as soon as we got home, we had to put the movie in, and I got to tell you, after watching this film, I think it meant more to me than it did to Brian. The 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. As someone who has dreams of his own, I could also relate to the skeptics and cynics in the film from NASA, the FBI, and the town folks - who, making fun of and belittle Farmer for even thinking he could possibly pull something like this off. What's even more telling of the film is that the children in the film, (who haven't been totally brain washed yet), are not only interested but believe in what Farmer is doing.

The entire film can be summed up in one scene where Farmer must go before a committee to plead his case and ask for permission to launch his rocket from his Texas ranch. After being poked and prodded for hours by the folks at NASA, the FAA and various other Government officials, Farmer gets the last word about his dream.

I thought to myself, "Why didn't this film get more notoriety? This is a really good film!" There are a couple of reasons for this. Director Michael Polish is noted more for his independent films with lower budgets. Second, fantasy certainly meets reality as reviews and critics berate this film in many of the same ways portrayed in the film itself. Using words and phrases like bounding leap of faith required, glosses over so many of its logistical details, or I've heard of "suspension of disbelief" before, but this is ridiculous! After watching this film, knowing the message it was trying to impress, I found many of these reviews quite ironic, and wonder if some of the critics even "got it".

I certainly did, and I found this film not only utterly refreshing in it's portrayal of how we should never let go of our dreams, but how we need to instill in our family that dreams are not only good, but very important.

For any adult who still has dreams left inside them and seem to be facing incredible odds and ridicule from those outside, "The Astronaut Farmer" is a must see film.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
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