Space Cowboys (2000)

reviewed by
Rose 'Bams' Cooper


'3BlackChicks Review...'

SPACE COWBOYS (2000) Rated PG-13; running time 123 minutes Genre: dramedy IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0186566 Official site: http://www.spacecowboys.net/ Written by:Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner Directed by: Clint Eastwood Cast: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden, Loren Dean, Courtney B. Vance, Barbara Babcock, William Devane, Aleksandr Kuznetsov (Russian Engineer)

Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2000 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamscowboys.html

There will be inevitable comparisons of SPACE COWBOYS to THE RIGHT STUFF (though I liken it more to ARMAGEDDON meets MISSION TO MARS meets COCOON). I could most def groove on veterans Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, and Donald Sutherland bucking the "current" Youth Fad in Hollywood; but I was less encouraged by Eastwood's uneven handling of the humorous aspects in some of the movies he's directed or starred in (cf TRUE CRIME. ewww.) Let's see which side of Eastwood comes to the fore...

The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**): A full forty years after being upstaged by a monkey for the right to show they had The Right Stuff in outer space, retired Air Force pilots Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones), engineer Jerry O'Nell (Donald Sutherland) and navigator Tank Sullivan (James Garner) are reunited in "Operation Dateless" when a Russian satellite, "Ikon", malfunctions. Much to the dismay of "Dateless'" former Air Force commander, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), Frank is found to be the designer of a system much like the one found in the satellite. And since the technology he designed is too ancient for the current NASA scientists like Sarah Holland (Marcia Gay Harden) to figure out, the ball is in Frank's court, and he plays it: he'll gladly fix the satellite - as long as he and his "Dateless" crewmates are allowed to go on that long-awaited space mission along with reluctant current astronauts Ethan Glance (Loren Dean) and Roger Hines (Courtney B. Vance).

And the big question, voiced by both Frank and NASA Flight Commander Eugene Davis (William Devane): just how did that "similar technology" get into a Cold War-era Russian satellite?

The Upshot: It seems like my fears were misplaced: it wasn't the humorous aspects of the movie that were the problem at all. In fact, the humor in SPACE COWBOYS was what saved the day for me - and the better comparison there was to the best parts of GRUMPY OLD MEN.

I'm an Old Skool kinda Chick, and in Hollywood, there's not much Older than the likes of Eastwood, Jones, Sutherland, and Garner. Each were charming in their own way, none more than Tommy Lee [whose name alone makes me want to make him an Honorary Brother]. Tommy Lee Jones puts the Grump in "Grumpy Old Man", and manages to do so without coming off either smarmy or as irritating as one would think his perpetual Good Ol' Boy acting would play. Jones is one of the most talented, natural actors in the business, and it's almost always a pleasure to watch him work. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, notwithstanding.

SPACE COWBOYS was Jones' and Clint Eastwood's puppy to play with. Jones' Grump was matched by Eastwood's patented Grimace; I almost saw Clint crack a smile...once...but I'd not have it any other way. Where Jones is at ease with his suthern drrrrawl, Eastwood Emotes through the grit of his teeth; and though age has softened that grit somewhat, Dirty Harry At 70 is still a force to reckon with.

Of the two remaining leads, Donald Sutherland fared much better than James Garner. I saw shades of Sutherland's younger self - no, not that hack son of his; I mean his character in THE DIRTY DOZEN - in the laid-back Jerry O'Nell. Less a lecher than Walter Matthau's GRUMPY OLD MEN character, Jerry's playful horniness was never laid on so thick as to make that character unappealing. Less successful was Garner; it didn't help that his character was mistakenly hobbled to start with [I'd like to throttle whomever decided that making him an uninspired preacher was A Good Idea], and neither Tank the character nor Garner the actor, were given much more to work with throughout the flick. Garner looked tired; certainly, he was a long way from THE ROCKFORD FILES and MURPHY'S ROMANCE, two of the better projects I've seen him in.

And speaking of romance - what, you didn't know that Old Folks Need Love, Too? - there was Love in the most unexpected of places. The brief flirtation scenes with Frank & Mrs. Corbin (I never caught Babcock's character's name, but I smiled when I remembered her in the spicy role of Sgt. Phil Esterhaus' paramour Grace in HILL STREET BLUES. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she's aged very well) were only a teaser for the more unexpected, yet somehow Obligatory, romance between Hawk and Sarah. I didn't have a problem with that, per se - if anything, Harden brought out even more of Jones' natural charm - but I'd like the name of Marcia Gay Harden's hairdresser. She (I assume) needs her butt whupped for letting Marcia Gay go out in public looking like that.

I loved "Cowboys'" sense of itself, of how John Glenn and THE RIGHT STUFF had to be acknowledged, and especially how it never really pushed the age bit too far [well, almost never]. What I *didn't* like was the illogic of Cromwell's character Bob Gerson and how he related to the Russian Engineer [without giving too much away here, howthell was Gerson kept on after...well, I guess that'd give too much away, so let me stop there. Watch it; you'll see what I'm getting at]. More to the point, though, it was the second, serious half that almost broke "Cowboys'" spell for me. And, since I couldn't hear half of what was being said, almost put me to sleep.

The comedic first half of SPACE COWBOYS certainly worked better for me than the more serious second half; once the Cowboys blasted into space, my initial estimation of the movie blasted out with them, and in fact, I had originally given this movie a lower rating than what it ended up with (see below). Fortunately, I saw the movie a second time; and with a better view of the screen and a better sound system in the theater, I was able to understand the space stuff a bit more than the first time. It still didn't compare to the first half, but certainly didn't drag the movie down as much as I first thought. Though I wish I'd left the theater more excited about what I had just seen, I most def felt Entertained...and ain't that what it's all about?

The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]: I had to chuckle at the way Diva's "Brotha Rule" played out here. Courtney B. Vance may be married to Angela "Born To Be Storm, I said!" Bassett, but apparently her cachet hasn't done him much good, as far as the usefulness of his Hollywood roles goes. Can't fault a brotha for at least showing up on the set, though - even if his fairly non-existent part amounted to not much more than a playful shove to the back of the shuttle by Tommy Lee.

[Oh...and please, Mr. Vance, bring back your mustache. Your fans will thank you for it.]

Bammer's Bottom Line: This one was a tuffy. I almost gave it a greenlight, for its sense of humor (Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland kept me laughing), but the serious outer space stuff left me rather cold, and I spent way too much time straining to hear what was being said. If you're in the mood to, check it out if for no other reason than to see three-and-a-half good old boys give it ye olde college try.

A rarity: upon second viewing, I've changed my mind. Greenlight, it is. Hey, it's a Chick's Prerogative...

SPACE COWBOYS (rating: greenlight): Now if I could only get that infernal Bon Jovi song outta my head...

Rose "Bams" Cooper                            /~\
Webchick and Editor,                         /','\
3BlackChicks Review                         /','`'\
Movie Reviews With Flava!                  /',',','/`,
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2000                `~-._'c    /
EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com                    `\   (
http://www.3blackchicks.com/                     /====\

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