The American Astronaut

A low budget B&W film. The look is modeled after old Sci-Fi films like Flash Gordon. Including drawings for the spaceship exterior with camera zooms and pans. The cinematography is more "film noir" and is interesting in parts and just contrasty in others.

The acting is very good in this campy storyline. There isn't a plot or character development worth mentioning the campy wierdness and design is what drives this film.

Overall it is an interesting venture with some good jokes and situations but is very quirky for the general public.

As for the ending all I can describe is that it does.

If you have an interest in film, this is an interesting venture. If you are looking for mainstream films, this ain't it.

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.

The American Astronaut is like a 60s sci-fi on acid. It's warped and doesn't make much sense. It doesn't have a strong plot and definitely isn't for everyone. But, I did find myself laughing at certain points and I enjoyed it.

There is a scene where the main character is on the toilet in the bathroom and two guys follow him in there. You're certain they're about to beat him up....until they plug in their record player and start singing to him. It's like West Side Story in another dimension. The Ceres jumping (their version of moon walking) in sync with the music makes for another great scene. This movie was born a cult classic.

...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!!

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).