The Astronaut Farmer
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 23, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
3
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
After teeny indies, this studio release retains the trademark love of warped American gothic that the Polishes share with David Lynch and the brothers Ethan and Joel Coen. But the unexpected streak of yearning sunniness -- the Spielbergian touch of boyhood dreams propelling a grown man -- gives The Astronaut Farmer a warmth that's new for them. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
This is gloriously self-aware hokum, a fantasy movie that is, above all, about our need for fantasy and escapism -- and even our need for movies like The Astronaut Farmer -- to help us combat the depression and disappointments of the everyday. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Much of the credit for the movie succeeding goes to Thornton. In his able hands, Farmer is not so much someone who simply has faith in what he is doing but a man who believes with incontrovertible knowledge of what can be accomplished. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Astronaut Farmer is one of those movies that makes an audience want to cheer and clap. Read full review
75
PremiereStephen Saito
Still, the film actually earns the description of being inspirational, not only to those of us with a dream, but to those who thought the quality family film had died long ago. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
It's hard not to like a movie so determined to make you feel the love of a family, to make you feel that every dream can become a reality and that every mortgage - no matter how close to foreclosure - can be rescued by the sudden death of a family member and his inheritance. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
The Astronaut Farmer stalls narratively in the third act, but rest assured it finally achieves liftoff. See it before it disappears into the ether. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
The Astronaut Farmer's goofy quality makes it totally endearing. It's also super entertaining. Critics are fond of referring to movies as a "great ride." With this one, the words couldn't be more apt. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterSura Wood
The Astronaut Farmer, is goofy, wholesome and, well, sweet. Despite some droll humor and on-target political jabs delivered deadpan by a uniformly strong cast, "Astronaut" often is too corny for its own good; it could have used more of those zingy lines. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Thornton carries the film with relaxed authority, though the earnest tone doesn't let him explore the nuttier aspects of a character who, from any reasoned distance ought look more screwy than heroic. Madsen is radiant. Read full review
70
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
This movie works precisely because it's bereft of modern cinema's cynicism. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The opening shots, of Farmer on horseback in his space suit, hint at a strangeness that the rest of the movie never quite lives up to, but it does have a visual freshness that makes the bromides and clichés palatable. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Sure, it's the corniest of conceits, but "Astronaut" taps delightfully into one of our deepest cultural values: the one about the pursuit of happiness. And the movie's unpretentious lightheartedness, which echoes the old-fashioned, corn-fed lore of Frank Capra, or even "The Andy Griffith Show," makes it blissfully easy to sign on for this good-natured voyage. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Fans of the Polish brothers and fans of inspirational movies may all depart the theatre scratching their heads: The Astronaut Farmer is not exactly the movie any of these viewers expected to see. This is almost always a good thing – even if the movie is a deserved head-scratcher. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Too odd for a studio movie, too cornpone for the independent scene, The Astronaut Farmer finds its creators stuck awkwardly between worlds, making what amounts to a deep curiosity. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
If the Polish brothers haven't quite mastered the mechanics of mainstream filmmaking, they have succeeded in bringing an independent spirit to the studio film. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The result is a modestly accomplished, modestly agreeable, altogether forgettable film. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Wobbles between its comic and dramatic concerns; even those who buy the film more wholeheartedly than I might consider the overall tone uncertain. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
As stories go, The Astronaut Farmer is engaging, even if it serves up a kind of Plains State brand of Rocky-esque hooey. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Before The Astronaut Farmer, I'd have said such dumbed-down filmmaking was beneath the Polish brothers. But if their dream is to ride Hollywood's gravy train once, I suppose I'll have to respect it. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Rarely have I seen a movie which made me feel more skeptically Canadian. Please -- it's not true that you can do anything. Stop trying. You might make things worse. Read full review
42
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Painfully earnest, The Astronaut Farmer is, sad to say, a bunch of hooey. It's Frank Capra without the genuine heart, certainly without any sense of perspective. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A dreary, downbeat "Field of Dreams." Read full review
38
Boston GlobeJanice Page
The real problem with The Astronaut Farmer is that it has no spark. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Some movies are so flagrantly awful that they achieve classic status. To this rarefied company we must now add The Astronaut Farmer. Read full review
25
USA TodayClaudia Puig
In most cases, doggedly pursuing a dream is laudable. But if it does nothing else, The Astronaut Farmer demonstrates that not every dream is worth pursuing. At least not the belabored one of a narcissistic crackpot masquerading as an admirable dreamer. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The oddest thing about this very odd movie is that it doesn't seem to know what to make of itself.
0
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A piece of mythmaking stupidity. Read full review
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