Artist The American Astronaut

Perhaps the most divisive movie to compete at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival where it debuted, writer-director-star Cory McAbee’s The American Astronaut runs out of ideas before it ends. But this playful and inventive science-fiction musical comedy comes off remarkably well while it lasts. A messy collision of hilariously cheapo effects (à la John Carpenter’s Dark Star), deranged cabaret, and cheerful absurdity, the film centers on an astronaut-for-hire (McAbee) who delivers parcels from one planet to another. The story, such as it goes, is too convoluted to decipher, but the spirited musical numbers (by The Billy Nayer Show), lowbrow gags, and striking black-and-white photography hold McAbee’s rickety contraption together.

Updated 09/23/2009