TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
LeonLouisRicci
Alternative Cinema is like an Alternative Lifestyle. Not for Everyone. What we have here is an Obnoxious, Impotent, and Gross exercise in Unbridled Movie making. There is Witless and Juvenile Dialog with Embarrassing Antics by Ugly, Unappealing Characters. This Movie is just too Queer. There is an attempt at Creative, though Self-Conscious, Composition. This Ego-Maniacal Film is Shameful and Pretentious. There are some slightly Interesting Musical Numbers that have a Modern Trend of Retro Appeal. There is a Talented Cinema-Photographer at Work and it is this that can make the Viewing Experience not a Wretched Waste of Time. On the other hand, let us Applaud Anyone, (Ed Wood), that has the Temerity and Chutzpah to Write, Produce and Direct a Film and get it On the Screen and in Front of People.
doctorschlock
One of the best quirky indie original off-the-wall comedies to see over and over again. I've seen some indie original stuff and The American Astronaut delivers with unexpected results. Why explain the unexplained? I liked it. You will like it. You won't be able to rationally explain it, but who can explain a Fun-house anyways? It's a Saturday Matinée kind of film. A fun film. An alternative universe where the men grow up on one planet and the women grow up on another. Thus goes the plot of a space cowboy who has to transport a girl in a box, a cat, and a boy who has actually seen a woman's breast. Did I mention that it is also a musical? Well, it is and you don't see that everyday.
jonathan941
..................all the artsyness/stylish directing and "off-beat" humor in the world couldn't can't save this extremily slow, irritating, and pointless flick. The scene where the main character is in the bathroom and the guys are dancing outside of his stall had me laughing hard, but that was the first and last time I laughed. I just can't believe there was only one other negative review on this site. ...................WARNING! I would think this would be a shockingly unwatchable film to most people...
tonynotoppings
This film is billed as a sci-fi, musical-western comedy. Sounds both original and strange doesn't it? The American Astronaut proves to be both of these (and strange definitely in a good way, believe me).The story is centred around space trader Samuel Curtis (played by writer and director Cory McAbee), who we find in a bar on an asteroid belt, landing in order to make a deal. The scene in the bar is extremely funny, and introduces us to the fact that this is partly a musical. In the bar, unbeknownst to Curtis, is his intermittently-reoccurring nemesis, Professor Hess. Hess, a psychotic killer, pursues Curtis throughout his subsequent journey, in which he performs a number of deals, culminating in travelling to Venus to provide a suitable male to the women of Venus, in order that they release the body of their late suitor, Johnny R), and the dialogue between the two is one of the highlights of the film.This film is stylishly shot in black and white, and Cory McAbee manages to convey the idea of outer space extraordinarily well with some simple direction. Especially impressive is the collage of still photographs showing Curtis explaining why Professor Hess is in his pursuit - it is funny, original, and ingeniously simple. Shot on a low budget, this film does not suffer from the fact in any way. McAbee's use of light and shadows is reminiscent of Orson Welles' direction in Citizen Kane - simple, but astonishingly effective.With a superb soundtrack from McAbee's band The Billy Nayer Show, and the script as impressive as the direction, the film's slightly abrupt ending is the only chink in this otherwise flawless masterpiece; although even that has an upside, in that it leaves you wishing to hear more of Samuel Curtis, and the others.Hopefully more from the same director will do.
