A unique approach to astronaut recruitment is taken by the US space organisation NASA in the 1994 Simpsons episode “Deep Space Homer.” “We require a novel perspective to pique the public’s curiosity!In the episode, a NASA official states. NASA finally decides to send a “blue-collar slob” (like Homer Simpson) into space because “the public sees our astronauts as clean-cut, athletic go-getters…They hate people like that.” “I suggest a lengthy, inefficient search — at the taxpayers’ expense, of course,” says another official.
In general, Space Cadet follows a similar plot, which is another illustration of the “Simpsons Already Did It” theory. Emma Roberts plays this blue-collar slob in the style of Homer Simpson; in fact, her character is named Rex Simpson, as if to further cement the cosmic connection. She’s a Florida dirtbag who dropped out of college to become a cocktail waitress and alligator wrestler. When she was younger, she wanted to be an astronaut. After her mother became ill, things didn’t go as planned (in an oddly solemn plotline for an otherwise resolutely goofy comedy). Rex, though, never gave up on her dream.
Rex is motivated to pursue her implausible astronaut ambition once more after running upon an old classmate who has transformed into an Elon Musk-like figure at a school reunion and who happens to go by the name “Toddrick”—after all, this is Florida. She doesn’t know, though, that her ride-or-die Nadine (Poppy Liu) shortly submits an incredibly fabricated application to NASA, and wouldn’t you know it? Rex is accepted into the astronaut training programme. Training scenes invariably ensue, accompanied by a cast of other eccentric characters, such as a nervy fanfiction writer (Violet Marie Vislawski), a cartoonish antagonist (Desire Lydic from The Daily Show), and a dashing British scientist (Dickon Tarly, Tom Hopper).
It seems like just another really cheap direct-to-streaming production.
This kind of movie approaches nerds similarly to The Big Bang Theory, in that it seems more like an outsider’s definition of what a nerd is (They wear glasses! They probably like poetry!) than a sincere admiration of them. Actually, the entire movie—which is, after all, supposed to be a celebration of science—takes a very anti-intellectual position, as if to imply that you can survive beyond the stars only by using your intuition. The writer-director Liz W. Garcia’s script contains a ridiculously minimal amount of physics, as Rex is praised and grinned at for understanding such esoteric ideas as Newton’s third rule, which states that there is an equal and opposite response to every action.
Your belief will actually be tested throughout to the extent that spacetime bends around a black hole. Surely, it would be simple to verify someone’s claim to have received a Pulitzer Prize—a journalism honor—as Rex’s application does? Not even the NASA geniuses considered doing a basic Google search? After less than a year of training, are you truly capable of reaching space? It feels like the kind of Hollywoodized, dog-ate-my-homework science that will, no doubt, eventually serve as the foundation for a protracted Neil DeGrasse Tyson dissection.
All of this would be moot if the movie was even mildly entertaining or interesting. It’s not any of these two things. Emma Roberts plays the girl next door to perfection, pleasant and candid, but the script she and the other cast members are forced to use is terribly corny. At one point, Rex remarks, “literally all I have to do is be myself…and have a colonoscopy!Her approaches aren’t traditional, though. While the cast features some seasoned comics like Lydic and Dave Foley, most of the actors lack the necessary skills to enhance weak material or deliver comedic timing.
When you combine all of this with a decidedly made-for-TV aesthetic and some cheesy visual effects, it seems like just another really cheap direct-to-streaming production. Alternatively, as a character from “Deep Space Homer” stated: “Don’t you believe there is an inherent danger in sending civilians into space who are not qualified or trained?”The only danger is if they send us to that terrible Planet of the Apes,” Homer Simpson replied, fittingly. Hold on a second… Liberty Statue? That was our world! You crazy people really blew it! Oh no! Hell on all of you!”
Although it claims to be a celebration of science, this movie might be the only thing that has halted the space programme for ten years.