SPACE COWBOYS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: In a something-for-everyone
adventure-comedy, four Air Force pilots, would-
be astronauts from the Sixties, now in their
seventies, get a chance to fly in space on what
turns out to be an important space mission.
This is a warm family comedy with more emphasis
on characters' personalities than on special
effects that transcends its Over-the-Hill-Gang-
in-Space high concept. Rating: 7 (0 to 10), low
+2 (-4 to +4)
THE RIGHT STUFF told how U.S. Air Force test pilots who had the so-called "right stuff" were nevertheless washed out of the space program by the government bureaucracy. That film was almost certainly the inspiration for SPACE COWBOYS in which four of those pilots, now in their seventies fly an important shuttle mission for NASA. The film opens with the four young test pilots, guys with the smarts and the guts it takes to save themselves in an emergency, being frustrated in their dreams to fly in space. Locked out are Frank Corvin, Tank Sullivan, Jerry O'Neil, and Hawk Hawkins, all commanded by the marginally competent Bob Gerson.
Flash forward to the present. The Russian communications satellite Ikon, dating back to the cold war era, is in a decaying orbit. For reasons not being clearly explained by anyone it is very important that the satellite be placed back into a healthy orbit. High people in both the American and Russian governments are anxious that it not be allowed to simply re-enter the atmosphere as its current course will take it. A NASA mission is being headed by Sara Holland (Marcia Gay Harden) under the management of program veteran Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) to repair the guidance system and put the satellite back in orbit. Retired pilot Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood), previously washed out of the space program, designed a guidance system in the Sixties and it is the one that was used aboard the Ikon. He is asked to come out of retirement and help repair the Ikon's guidance system. Frank asks the obvious question: what is his guidance system doing aboard a Soviet satellite sent up during the Cold War? He does not get an answer. Corvin's deal for NASA: They can have his help only if his 1960s team of four pilots get to fly the mission. Gerson's response: they can go if they can get through training.
Corvin collects the other three members. There is Tank Sullivan (James Garner), now a Baptist minister. Jerry O'Neil (Donald Sutherland) now engineers roller-coasters, and Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones) flies biplanes. Corvin reassembles the somewhat startled and bemused team and they begin their training. When it is clear that they cannot possibly get through the training through fair means, they resort to foul. Somewhat irksome is the unlikely device that the nearly blind Jerry O'Neil is able to bluff his way so that nobody suspects. The training is a major part of the movie. The actual mission does not begin until about ninety minutes into the film. All the while the mystery of this enigmatic Soviet satellite deepens as the questions begin to pile up.
At the center of the story is Eastwood, not the world's most emotive actor, and Tommy Lee Jones. Donald Sutherland as an aging Lothario who bluffs his way around his near-blindness. Garner's trademark is his low-key quietly amused performances. Here he it works against him as he frequently melts into the scenery in the presence of the other major actors. Marsha Gay Harden is a good choice for the mission planner. Many actresses would look a little too glamorous in the role and she gives the impression of being more an intelligent, no-nonsense sort of person. William Devane, who in other films frequently shows little more characterization than a funny way of talking, for once has a role that he can sink his teeth into as the gum-chewing Mission Control.
Nicely handled is the prologue set in the 1960s. It would be impossible to make the cast look so many decades younger. The characters are played by look-alike actors with the real actors voices processed to sound younger. The sequence does not entirely work to convince the audience these are the same people, but it is close enough for the viewer to go with it. The younger version of Eastwood (Toby Stephens) looks close enough to Eastwood that there may have been some digital processing going on. In general the space special effects are kept conservative and inexpensive. Stock footage seems to be used where possible. But this film is not an effects extravaganza. You probably do not go to a film like this dazzling effect, for excitement, or even believability in the adventure. You want to see the interplay of four elder stars, each with proven comic flair from earlier films. As expected they deliver.
SPACE COWBOYS will probably be classified by most people as a science fiction film, though there is not much in it to make it science fiction any more. But it is a well-crafted film with an accent on characters. I rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 2000 Mark R. Leeper
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