The American Astronaut (2001)

61% of critics liked it
(31 reviews)
88% of users liked it
(3,770 ratings)

Eraserhead meets Buck Rogers by way of an MGM musical in this bizarre outer-space saga about Samuel Curtis (Cory McAbee), a galactic truck driver looking to make a killing. The film opens with Curtis landing on the freewheeling, all-male asteroid of Ceres. Before winning a dance contest with his… More Eraserhead meets Buck Rogers by way of an MGM musical in this bizarre outer-space saga about Samuel Curtis (Cory McAbee), a galactic truck driver looking to make a killing. The film opens with Curtis landing on the freewheeling, all-male asteroid of Ceres. Before winning a dance contest with his buddy Blueberry Pirate -- who is renowned for smuggling fresh fruit -- Curtis learns from Blueberry about a scheme to give a fetal "real live girl" to the similarly male-dominated planet of Jupiter in exchange for a strapping adolescent known solely as "The Boy Who Actually Saw a Female Breast." He in turn will be sent to the all-female planet of Venus where he will spend his life servicing the planet's occupants. Unfortunately, Curtis is followed by the mysterious self-proclaimed birthday boy Professor Hess, who has a tendency to vaporize any and all who come into contact with him. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival as a part of the Midnight Madness program. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Cory McAbee
Written By: Cory McAbee
Genres: Western, Musical & Performing Arts, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 12, 2001 Limited
On DVD: Feb 22, 2005
Studio: Artistic License Films

Critic Reviews

Michael Booth, Denver Post
It's a rockabilly space romp, often very bad but usually a visual treat.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
A movie so goofy and affable about its willful, second-rate cheesiness that anger becomes a waste of time. You either go along with it or you don't go at all.
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News
Movies don't get much more homemade or endearingly eccentric.
Jim Sullivan, Boston Globe
It's equal parts creepy, campy, funny, and tedious.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Hit-and-miss comedy.
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News
Just let the expressionistic, oddly charming images wash over you and enjoy the rush of a zero-budget indie that somehow fuses Buck Rogers and the theater of the absurd.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
A cult phenom, with the longest mis-told joke and The Boy Who Actually Saw a Woman's Breast
Brian Thomas, Now Playing Magazine
If you're in the mood for something really out there, this one delivers many rewards.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It can be perceived as a pleasant antidote to the Hollywood mainstream comedy.
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly
If Andy Warhol ever made a movie with Ed Wood, this might have been the result.
Ron Wells, Film Threat
This musical epic is unlike anything I (or anyone I know) have ever laid eyes on.
Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. Weekly
A sui generis, love-it-or-hate-it exercise in homegrown American surrealism.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Something somewhere between Six-String Samurai and Dead Man (but a science-fiction musical).
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
Every once in a blue moon some inexplicable force of cinema pushes all sanity and sense of aesthetics aside and leaves me defenselessly embracing a movie that has no apparent redeeming factor other than its cheesy eccentricity.
Kim Morgan, Oregonian
Accepting its darkness, warmth and gentle ridiculousness, you'll find yourself heartened, though you won't be exactly sure why.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Greg S

A space pilot transports the Boy Who Saw a Woman's Breast from Jupiter to Venus to obtain a bounty in this surrealistic space-western musical. I was underwhelmed by this minor cult film; it has some great moments of absurd humor but often drags with sequences of inconsequential… More
A space pilot transports the Boy Who Saw a Woman's Breast from Jupiter to Venus to obtain a bounty in this surrealistic space-western musical. I was underwhelmed by this minor cult film; it has some great moments of absurd humor but often drags with sequences of inconsequential nonsense.
Ken S

Irritatingly arty
Aaron N

Samuel Curtis: My father taught me to kill the sunflower. Voice: Congratulations, Mr. Curtis. You are now awake. Two hours to Jupiter. Here's a movie that very few will have ever heard of or get to see. It's definetely not for everyone, but I was entertained. It's… More
Samuel Curtis: My father taught me to kill the sunflower. Voice: Congratulations, Mr. Curtis. You are now awake. Two hours to Jupiter. Here's a movie that very few will have ever heard of or get to see. It's definetely not for everyone, but I was entertained. It's strange how I like this film and not Eraserhead, but that's just how things are. This is a sci-fi-western-musical surrounding the life of a space cowboy who encounters some other characters including his old nemesis who kills anyone just for being around. This is very much a low-budget, independent feature. Despite being a film that takes place in outer space, the effects and props are handled Flash Gordon style. The whole movie is done in a very surrealist fashion. It could be seen as a comedy, and there are funny moments involving the randomness and break outs into song. It could also be seen as slightly disturbing when dealing with the space cowboy's nemesis. I also have to point out the soundtrack created by the lead singer of the band who wrote, directed, and stars in this movie, Cory McAbee. It's a good rock soundtrack. Once again, this is not for everyone, but it also wont be seen by almost anyone, so if you like very random things that are strange or Lynch films, you might like this. [Samuel answers the phone] Professor Hess: Guess who this is? Samuel Curtis: Professor Hess. Professor Hess: That's right! You got it on the first try! For that, you get a kiss! Samuel Curtis: I'll pass. Professor Hess: W-what? You think I'd kiss you? You'd love it if I'd kiss you. And I would never kiss you. Samuel Curtis: You said you were going to kiss me. Professor Hess: I never said I'd kiss you. I never said that. You just want me to kiss you! Samuel Curtis: Um... not really. Professor Hess: Oh. I'm not good enough to kiss you. Is that what you're saying?
FanGirl B

Increditablly weird and wonderful. If you like your movies normal and mainstream skip this one but if you like your movies quirky and off the wall you'll LOVE The American Astronaut (or at least I did). Sort of a wacky, black and white, outter space Rocky Horror Picture Show.