Page 8
The Behrend Beacon
The Screen Visions Film Series
Event continues with the space western, rock opera, `The American Astronaut'
review by Daniel J. Stasiewski
In September, Trigon sponsored a screening of "Rocky Horror Pic
ture Show" that included a goody bag full of the interactive essen
tials needed for authentic experience of the B Movie cult classic.
Since its release 28 years ago, there hasn't been a film that could
compete with the irreverence of "Rocky" and garner a cult following
that can get even Erieites into fishnet stockings.
"The American Astronaut" might be that film. The sci-fi/western/
musical is an eccentric indie developed with the help of the Sundance
Institute's Screenwriter's Lab, despite being a little too freaky for
even the Sundance crowd. It's a film with a story as original as it is
off-the-wall, so much so that the beautiful aesthetics can go unno
ticed in the first viewing. With so much to offer, so many lines to
memorize, and so many songs to sing, this future Midnight Movie
doesn't just require repeat attendance, it clubs-and-sacks a dizzied
audience hack for more.
Samuel Curtis is an interplanetary trader who gets the moneymaking
opportunity of a lifetime. Upon arriving at an outpost in the asteroid
belt, Curtis receives a cloned fetus that will develop into a human
female. An old friend, named the Blueberry Pirate, tells him he can
receive reward money for returning a dead man's body to his family
on Earth, if he trades the fetus with the right people.
Curtis has a Han Solo-like concern for wealth, so he jumps on the
opportunity with understated anticipation. The first stop is the all
male mining colony on Jupiter to exchange a real woman to be with
the-boy-who-once-saw-a-woman's-breast. The 16-year-old boy, who
dresses like a silent film star from a 1920 s Roman Epic, is excited to
leave the dingy planet, but he doesn't know how great his life will be,
Ferrell's 'Elf' a gigantic
in post-SNL career
step
by Chris Hewitt
Knight Ridder Newspapers
If you believe press releases, virtually every
movie coining out in the next year has two things
in common: All of them will he fantastic, and all
will star Will Ferrell.
There's "Elf," the holiday comedy that opens Fri
day. "Bewitched" with Nicole Kidman. Ferrell's
first dramatic role, in "Winter Passing," with Ed
Harris. The next Woody Allen comedy. The oft
delayed film version of "A Confederacy of Dunces,"
with Drew Barrymore. A comedy about soccer, with
Robert Duvall. "Starsky and Hutch: The Movie,"
with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. The animated
"Curious George" movie, where he's the voice of
George's human pal. "The Wendell Baker Story," a
comedy with Luke and Owen Wilson (again).
It's exhausting to read that list, and Ferrell ac
knowledges it's a little exhausting to act in it, too.
But ...
"I grew up watching my father in the music busi
ness, seeing him having a nightclub gig that could
last a month or a year, with no rhyme or reason,
and then nothing," says Ferrell. "I have no illusions
about the fact that it would be fun to have a long
career, but we could be talking next year and I'll be
driving a UPS truck. Which is not a slam against
that. Nothing wrong with the UPS."
He'd better not he talking smack about parcel ser
vices, since they're practically lined up at his door
to drop off scripts, all because the buzz on "Elf" is
so strong. Still, Ferrell says reports of his hyper
schedule are a bit exaggerated.
"As soon as I maybe agree to help develop
someone's script, the next day Variety reports
'Ferrell is signed on to do such-and-such,' " he says.
"It's 50-50 whether some of those things will hap
pen."
Specifically, he says, "The Woody Allen is for
sure. I'm doing that right now. Then there's the Ed
Harris one and the Duvall one _ OK, I'm disprov
ing my whole point here, aren't I? Most of those
are legit, but 'Confederacy' may or may not hap
pen. Same with 'Bewitched.' And a few of the other
ones, like 'Starsky and Hutch,' are just one- or two
day parts."
Although Ferrell is known for slipping into hid
eous power suits to impersonate Janet Reno on "Sat
urday Night Live" and running buck-naked through
a town square in "Old School," he comes off as
serious, quiet and normal on the phone. So normal
that, unlike virtually every other tardy actor I've
interviewed on the phone, he calls me himself,
rather than letting a publicist or assistant's fingers
do the walking, and he does it at 10 a.m. on the dot,
exactly when the interview was scheduled.
"Oh, yeah, I'm a freak about that," says Ferrell.
"I like to be right on the money in terms of punctu
ality. You know what, though? I'm going to change
that. Someone just rang my door. Hang on a sec
ond."
In the background, Ferrell can be heard chatting
with a maid at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, where
he stayed while doing publicity for "Elf." "Sorry,"
he says when he returns. "Just a little maid service
action happening there."
Ferrell says he has not always been good at read-
a&e editor
Gregory Russell Cook and Cory McAbee in "The American
Astronaut."
especially when he's set to be the adolescent male breeder-king on
the all-female planet of Venus.
Once Curtis gets to Venus he'll be able to take the body of the
former king back to earth and trade it in for the reward money. Seems
simple, but along the way he has to deal with his friend and nemesis,
Professor Hess. Hess is a birthday-boy killer who can only kill if he
doesn't have a reason. Since he does have a reason to kill Curtis,
Hess just follows the trader around, leaving a trail of carnage until he
can finally forgive Curtis for their mysterious past and turn him into
a pile of dust.
"The American Astronaut" is a wacky rock opera, with songs writ-
ing scripts (that would explain "A Night at the
Roxbury"), relying too much on gut instincts. "Old
School," for instance, a raucous comedy that is prob
ably on every video shelf of every frat house in
America, did not appeal to him right off the hat.
"That was a big lesson for me, actually," he says.
"At first, I wasn't taken by the whole idea. But, luck
ily, after sitting down with (director) Todd Phillips
and the smart people who represent me, who said,
'This has the potential to be a landmark comedy,' I
changed my mind. That opened my eyes to not be
so quick to judge a comedy right out of the gate, to
not say 'No' too quickly."
Same thing happened with "Elf," in which he
plays Buddy, a human who, having been mistaken
for an elf as a baby, is raised in the North Pole and
never notices that his shoe size is eight times the
North Pole average. When Buddy is finally told he's
a human, he heads to New York to give the city that
never sleeps a dose of Christmas cheer.
"The script was brought to my attention by my
manager four or five years ago," says Ferrell. "Right
away, the concept of the poster, with me in an elf
suit, seemed to be something that could work on a
lot of levels, but it took a long time to get the idea
in order."
The concept sounds like shtick, but the surprise
of "Elf' is that Ferrell gives a genuine performance
that is sweet, sincere and utterly without guile.
"That was kind of the issue that we had to get
right," says Ferrell. "Although it was obviously a
comedic performance, I knew I had to play it
straight in terms of his thought process. Buddy is
like a child in that he has no filters in place, so when
he sees a piece of gum on the ground, he thinks,
'Cool. Free candy,' whereas I would say, 'Oh, it's
dirty. Yuk.' "
"Yuk" is the reaction some might have to wear
ing revealing tights for an entire film, as Ferrell does
in "Elf' (although the outfit is demure in compari
son to what he wore for half of "Old School," which
was nothing). Ferrell says steps were taken to make
sure he didn't reveal too much of a Christmas pack
age.
"Yeah, it wasn't my favorite costume," acknowl
edges Ferrell. "Let's put it this way: A real effort
was put into giving Buddy an androgynous, asexual
look. So there were a couple of pairs of special,
diaper-y underwear worn at all times."
The idea was to make sure that "Elf' never ven
tured into the crass, exactly-the-opposite-of-Christ
mas-spirit territory that, for instance, the movie ver
sion of "The Grinch" stepped into. "That's (direc
tor) Jon Favreau," says Ferrell. "He wanted to make
sure the movie was kind of heartfelt and sweet,
whereas I was especially concerned about the co
medic side of things."
Ferrell says he learned pretty quickly to trust
Favreau's instincts, and he's pleased that he did.
Which is another lesson he has learned from all
those movies: Relax.
"You know, there's stuff I have control of. I show
up on time. I'm prepared. I call people on time, as
you said - 10 o'clock, right on the money," says
Ferrell. "But I'm not too much of a worrier, in gen
eral, about other things. Even right now, it all feels
so unreal that I get to do this great job. So the mair
thing is to try not to take it too seriously."
Friday November 7, 2003
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featuring the Native Nations
Dance Theater
Tuesday 8112:30 p.m. in the Reed Wintergarden
Daniel J. Stasiewski, A&E Editor
ten and performed by director Cory McAbee's hand, the Billy Nayer
Show. McAbee has fused his band's eccentric rock styling with a
ruthless space western, creating a one-of-a-kind epic musical experi-
McAbee's band is so closely associated with this and all his films
that it effectively becomes a kind of character of its own, something
"The American Astronaut" couldn't exist as it is without. The actual
characters in the film do, however, create an eclectic assortment of
heroes and villains. They shouldn't be in the same film, as they range
from bow-tied killers in suits to southern debutantes. Their drastic,
comical differences make them fit together.
When the film was released, it received an Independent Spirit Award
nomination for Best Cinematography. The black-and-white pictures
do stand out, creating the illusion of empty space. But the film's tech
nique for space travel, disjointed still photos that look like a flip book
with missing pages, is the kind of innovation that can only be found
in the financially strapped world of indie film.
"The American Astronaut" has the freakish blend of characters,
story, and music that could make any film a cult classic. Of course, it
will take time. If you're reading this and it's the first time you've
ever heard of this 2-year old film, don't fret.. "The American Astro
naut" is going to be around for a while, waiting for the day when fans
dressed as space cowboys will go see it.
out of
4 stars
Pizza & 'Stix Student Combo
behrcolls@aol.com
"The American Astronaut." directed by
and starring Cory McAbee. is showing
as part of the Screen Visions Film Se
ries. McAbee will be on hand for a post
show Q&A. The screening takes place
in Reed 117 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.