Space Cowboys
Reviewed by Vivian Rose, age 15, from US
When I saw Clint Eastwood's last film, "True Crime", I
suggested that Clint keep his shirt on in future films (he's
just too old and wrinkled to show so much skin). After seeing
his latest film, "Space Cowboys", I have another suggestion
- Clint should keep his rear end covered too. And that goes
for his three costars, including Tommy Lee Jones. In my
opinion, the scene where all four old geezers are butt-naked
was really unnecessary. And if those were stunt doubles
for the stars, then some less realistic looking stunt doubles
were in order!
Aside from my complaint about Clint Eastwood's exposed
derriere, "Space Cowboys" actually turned out to be a better
movie than I expected. Although I'm not a big fan of geezer
comedies ("Out to Sea" and "The Odd Couple II" bored me),
even I laughed at some scenes in "Space Cowboys". Eastwood
and Jones are two of four over-the-hill former astronauts
who are asked to fix a very old satellite. Eastwood cooks
a deal that the four of them fly into space to repair the
failing "bird". (An old enemy- and two-faced liar- at NASA
opposes the idea, but finally agrees. If you ask me, his
character would have made a great politician.)
"Space Cowboys" isn't the best comedy I've seen, but it
does prove quite comical - and the jokes don't just appeal
to older audiences, which I appreciated. It's good that
"Space Cowboys" manages to be funny, because as a drama
it fails. The plot is too predictable (plot spoiler ahead).
When one of the aged astronauts learns he has inoperable
cancer, you know he's the one who will sacrifice his life
for the mission. You also know that the female NASA engineer
who works with the astronauts will start a May-December
romance with one of them. But if you just want a good laugh,
"Space Cowboys" is probably a good bet - even if you're
not a senior citizen. One more thing about Clint Eastwood
- he's too old to be playing a fifty-nine year old. I know
he's at least seventy, and he looks it.
Rating: PG-13 (
