Grumpy old spacemen

By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 4, 2000

Space Cowboys is as preposterous as it gets in movies, from its studio pitch ("Think: Armageddon meets Cocoon!") to a final shot that completely obliterates any logic remaining from the previous two hours.

Without the hook of sexagenarian astronauts saving the world, Space Cowboys would be just another run-of-the-mill science fiction flick. The fact that director Clint Eastwood hired a veritable Mount Rushmore of actors to perform this hoo-hah makes all the difference.

Actor-director Clint Eastwood makes our day with an enticing collection of veteran actors, whose on-screen chemistry propels an otherwise so-so Space Cowboys.

Eastwood has dibs on the lead role of Frank Corvin, a retired Air Force test pilot bypassed in 1958 by America's fledgling space program in favor of a chimpanzee. He stayed around long enough to design a guidance system for Skylab, technology that somehow became incorporated in a Russian satellite.

Now, that satellite is expected to crash to Earth. Frank must round up his former team of rocket jockeys to stage a repair mission. "Hawk" Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones) is a cantankerous Texan and Frank's friendly rival. Donald Sutherland plays Jerry O'Neill, a pony-tailed ladies' man, and James Garner is "Tank" Sullivan, an easy-going navigator.

They are, as a USA Today headline about their assignment declares, the Ripe Stuff.

Space Cowboys follows the pattern of every buddy-mission movie from Ocean's 11 to The Longest Yard. First, the ringleader must visit each partner individually, learning their new quirks or rehashing old grudges. He invites them along. One will refuse at first, then join in. Next comes training sessions, bonding against the odds and, finally, the mission.

Eastwood and screenwriters Ken Kaufman and Howard Klausner know the routine. They also realize the potential offered by the geriatric angle. Space Cowboys uses common perceptions of the aged in our favor, either celebrating the wisdom of experience or finding humor in Jerry's enduring sexual potency and the fact that many of the crew's contemporaries are dead. The movie is always respectful, yet maintains the same amusement that would trail a skateboarding retiree.

The training sessions are the best scenes in Space Cowboys, as Frank and his crew sneak through physical examinations and show young whippersnappers like astronaut Ethan Glance (bland Loren Dean) that old school is better. It's all about camaraderie among the old pros. Eastwood and Jones toss off wry one-liners, Sutherland plays noble kook, and Garner still works as if he doesn't know cameras are rolling.

Antagonism comes from the crew's former boss, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), who picked the chimp over the boys 42 years ago and needs them now. Frank's resentment is a key element of the plot. Gerson also knows something about that satellite that won't be revealed until it's too late. Cromwell plays two-faced well, as he did in L.A. Confidential.

Space Cowboys stretches the earthbound scenes much too long, including a needless romance developing between Hawk and a NASA engineer (Marcia Gay Harden). Razzing and worrisome comments from NASA employees become redundant. The secret behind the faulty satellite is easy to guess, but withheld until the last half-hour.

Eastwood keeps a firm hand on the messy material, more evidence of his still-underrated skills as a director. Computer-generated toys don't throw him for a loop, and making a set comfortable for actors has always been his specialty. He also pulls off a neat stunt in the black-and-white 1958 prologue, using young physical impersonators lip-synching to the older actors' voices.

When the movie blasts into outer space, the chemistry among the four aging action heroes is diminished by bulky spacesuits and techno-speak. Special effects are impressive, but no better than any other sci-fi adventure these days. Space Cowboys flies moviegoers to the moon, but it's so much more fun playing along with the stars.

Space Cowboys

• Grade: B
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Cast: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, James Cromwell, William Devane
• Screenplay: Ken Kaufman, Howard Klausner
• Rating: PG-13; profanity, nudity, sexual situations
• Running time: 129 min.