ROCKETMAN
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 3.5 Alternative Scale: *1/2 out of ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 10/10/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:32 MPAA Classification: PG (Flatulence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Beau Bridges, Peter Onorati Director: Stuart Gillard Producers: Eric L. Gold Screenplay: Greg Erb and Craig Mazin Cinematography: Steven Poster Music: Michael Tavera U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
What do you get if you cross Pauly Shore, Adam Sandler, and PeeWee Herman? The answer is Harland Williams, one of the most annoying "comic" actors to arrive on the scene since Jim Carrey. And, since Williams is in almost every scene of Walt Disney's newest travesty, ROCKETMAN, it makes the thinly-written film that much harder to take. Sad to say, but the enjoyable-yet-anemic GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE remains the Mouse's best live action offering of the year, and this cinematic scrap doesn't come close.
Williams plays astronaut Fred Randall, the most inept candidate ever to undergo NASA training. And he isn't targeted for just any mission: he's about to become one quarter of the four-member team scheduled to make the first manned flight to Mars. His fellow space travelers include two shuttle veterans, Mission Commander Overbeck (William Sadler) and Julie Ford (Jessica Lundy), and a chimpanzee named Ulysses (who is actually more appealing and charismatic than any of the human stars). Randall is only on the team because of his intimate knowledge of the landing pod guidance system (he designed the software). Without him, the mission would be delayed at least two years, and the ambitious flight director (Jeffrey DeMunn) isn't willing to wait that long. So, ready or not, Randall becomes the first moron in space.
ROCKETMAN's attempts at humor are predictably juvenile, consisting mainly of the usual PG-rated cartoonish slapstick and mild flatulence. One of the "high" points comes when Randall, wandering around on the surface of Mars in a space suit, has a sudden gas attack. His suit balloons up until he looks like the Michelin Man, and Overbeck, who's using the same oxygen supply, nearly dies from the odor. If that's your brand of humor, you probably won't find ROCKETMAN as unfunny as I did.
There are a few positive things I can say about this film (although, admittedly, it's a stretch). ROCKETMAN features the most unique exclamation found in any movie this year: "Sweet Alaskan Asparagus Tips!" There's also a surprisingly subtle bit of humor involving a BBC reporter who's too polite to be noticed at a press conference. On the acting front, although no one really stands out, Jessica Lundy is pleasant enough and William Sadler avoids chewing on the scenery. Beau Bridges does his best not to look embarrassed. And, despite the predictability of his antics, the chimp is pretty good.
In the end, there's not much to say about ROCKETMAN. Distilled to its basic essence, it's stale, lame, and utterly predictable -- and those are its good qualities. (Note: predictability can be okay if the movie is entertaining, which this isn't.) When it comes to scientific accuracy, this film isn't going to challenge CONTACT, or even INDEPENDENCE DAY, for that matter. The special effects are of the K- Mart variety. (The surface of Mars looked a lot more impressive in TOTAL RECALL.) Essentially, the movie follows the basic plot-by-numbers scripting technique that forms the basis of most Disney-generated productions, only this time, instead of getting an appealing actor like Sinbad for the lead, they've chosen the irritating Williams. Younger kids may actually like ROCKETMAN, but that's not a big surprise. Disney knows the target audience for this sort of offering: unsophisticated, undiscriminating, willing to laugh at almost anything, and fond of chimps. While that's not a group profile to envy, this picture will probably still make a profit.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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"The cinema is not an art which films life: the cinema is something between art and life. Unlike painting and literature, the cinema both gives to life and takes from it..."
- Jean-Luc Godard
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