The American Astronaut

A true original. I loved this film and the wild wonderful universe that McAbee was able to create on what must have been a $1.80 budget. It has a hypnotic quality, off beat characters, and even a touching father /son relationship.. what more could you want? There is a rousing scene at the beginning when the astronaut walks from his ship to the space bar. His walk goes for some time while a wonderful instrumental plays. If you don't enjoy this part for its simplicity, you probably won't like the rest of the flick. While it dosn't look like this film will get a major distributer ( I got to see it at the Washington DC Film fest with McAbee there to discuss it!) the soundtrack album is available at americanastronaut.com. I'm listening to it as I write this! This is the fist movie in a long time that I have seen that I didn't want it to end.. McAbee knows the first rule of showbusiness: Always leave them wanting more!

If you like the silly and/or absurd, see this film! It is definitely one of the most enjoyable things I have seen in quite a while.

Bon appetit.

P.S. If you can't suspend your disbelief and just have a good time with it, you will probably not like 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.

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.

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).