Okay, I saw the movie at the Red Vic in the Haight/Ashbury of San Francisco...a perfect setting for an off-beat film where movie-goers can watch a flik from a flea-bitten (j/k) couch while eating' good and cheap confection. Maybe this sounds like an ad for the movie theater, but I find such a setting perfect for how I would categorize American Astronaut: as a couch swallowing, camp/cult SCI FI flik.With its punkish music, it is a caricature of solar system space travel reminding me of Rocky Horror; but yes, it had the disconcert of Eraserhead. It all began on a f'd up bar on an asteroid. And while the ending was perhaps unsatisfying, it ended when I needed it to end...kind of like a Phillip K. Dick novel.I'm giving the movie a very high grade because it was made on the cheap. It made me laugh hard. It left a lot of room for personal interpretation. It is a social commentary. And it was quite disturbing, especially in its view of men and women existing separately.Oh yeah, it definitely had some commonality with The Queen of Outer Space...though crasser. For some reason, I was wondering if SCI-FI had a category called Kitsch SCI-FI. I looked up kitsch and must say that there is nothing kitsch about American Astronaut, especially the low budget spaceship because we really don't yet inhabit the solar system and glossy Star Trek space boats are extreme imitations of truth while even an Einstein cho cho train elaboration is more relativistic to our Earth...or at least way REALer than than captialistic star boat Enterprise.Ultimately, it all felt gay no matter which way you look at it..."Not because he wants to wear it, but because he gets to wear it." It's one of our pseudo hero's funniest lines as I remember it from the movie. I'd own this film if I could find it.

The American Astronaut is the kind of film that no right-thinking development body, media council or production company would dream of supporting. Good. In their hands, what a nightmare it would become. Instead you might wonder if Cory McAbee and BNS Productions were dropped on their collective brain once upon a time. In a good way.TAA embraces the low budget and turns it into its strongest feature. Black and white makes every grimy detail somehow gorgeous. The brass fittings and real wood interiors are reminiscent of the rickety technology that fired a rocket into the eye of the moon decades ago. It is not at all like Eraserhead, but that is exactly what it reminds you of. Alternatively, imagine Steptoe And Son in space, with one Harry H. Corbett and a near infinite number of dirty old men.In the same way that Alien gave a convincing glimpse at the distant future of long-haul space travel (ignoring the parasites for a moment) TAA points out that the first steps are likely to be sweaty, spotty, lonely little head trips which only serve to emphasise our humanity when we reach our destination, even if by that point our humanity is disturbed. But there is a real depth of feeling throughout.To say nothing of the great soundtrack, the cracked sense of humour, the striking artistic style and the excellent effect of the death ray.It isn't perfect. It feels like there should be more when it finishes, but only because every sensible film tends to tie up its loose ends and provide a recognisable conclusion or resolution at all costs. TAA isn't sensible and has no costs, so what can you expect?

I saw the film at the Toronto Film Festival in 2001 and loved it. Just rented the DVD and it's a treat. Not only did I enjoy the film even more than the first viewing, but I immediately rewatched it via the Director's Commentary. The commentary makes you love the film exponentially more if only because it's done in a unique way: Cory McAbee narrates at a live screening, taking questions from the audience. McAbee is uniquely eloquent in his commentary. I've heard many commentaries that simply leave me numb, praying for narcolepsy to strike. Instead, the heart and mind of a true Renaissance man were revealed, imbuing the film (and the music) with new life (just when you thought you couldn't love a film more). There are some perfect cinematic scenes in this film. I watch literally hundreds of films a year and it's rare that I'm surprised by some narrative trope but to my joy, Hey Boy! is there to give me new faith in cinema. However impressed I was with Cory McAbee before, now I'm awestruck. And it's always a treat to hear Brian Eno's name a few times in a commentary. Wow. Congratulations.

I don't like musicals and I'm not a huge fan of space movies but I loved this film. This black and white, no-budget, space western musical is quirky and full of humor. The music, though beyond any description I can think of, comes from the talented Billy Nayer Show (who made the film as well). Treat yourself to this film. It's not Hollywood, thankfully.This film is character driven with many of the lead rolls played by the band members. To the best of my knowledge, the space backgrounds where also painted by the band. Not meant to be believable (I don't think), they are more real than "real."If you ever have a chance to see Billy Nayer Show live you are in for a treat. But I was first turned onto this art collect through this movie. See it.