Sharkflei
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Teddie Blake
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Ortiz
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
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...
Stew_pac
I saw this movie originally as part of the Southern Film Circuit Series in the Fall of 2003, I was instantly amazed by the entire film, but unfortunately because I had to view at a separate time from the viewing at the theater I did not get a chance to talk with the filmmaker who made it, which I now incredibly regret. During the beginning of the movie when the words are uttered "but it's my birthday" got me immediately interested in the film and its weird quirkiness is definitely held during the entirety of the film. The movie hold an odd mixture between old western and old science fiction movies that give the film a certain nostalgia. The movie is odd, which I love, so if you are looking for a regular run of the mill film, this is most definitely not it. But if you give the film a chance, you just may be able to recognize the various references made throughout the film and the beauty that is this rare gem.
didi-5
'The American Astronaut' promises much more than it delivers, I'm sorry to say. It has all the hallmarks of a cult movie - comedy musical western with a rock score - but falls short of what it could have been.Cory McAbee (director, writer, star), who doesn't come across as particularly interesting as himself - guesting at a screening of this recently - plays Curtis, the astronaut of the title who wins a dance contest on Ceres, gets given a job to do, and - well, it's downhill from there, really.As Professor Heiss, Rocco Sisto comes across as very Ed Wood, moaning about everyone ignoring his birthday, reducing people in his wake to piles of sand. Greg Russell Cook is 'the boy who actually saw a woman's breasts', a bored cutie in a Greek God uniform; while Tom Aldredge is a bitter old man in the pub on Ceres who tells the long-winded, and rather silly 'hertz doughnut' joke.The main premise of this messy film is to showcase the real-life band (made up from McAbee, the producer, and the Ceres house musicians) who wrote and perform the score. There's a lot of promise in the musical numbers - one performed in the men's room (now, that was funny); one performed in silhouette in a shed floating in space; one performed by 'the Boy' on stage; one performed by Professor Heiss after a murderous spree, one performed by fat dull Eddie the barman on Ceres, etc. etc.The photography, when it isn't being 'look how low budget we are' (any of the shots with the space ship), is pretty good. The film appears in black and white and uses minimal sets and cheap costume to move its (limited) story along. But it could have been a lot more far-out and wacky. I came away feeling just a bit disappointed and felt that the film-makers themselves lost interest a fair way from the end. Pity.