Space Cadet, 2024.
Written and Directed by Liz W. Garcia.
Starring Emma Roberts, Tom Hopper, Gabrielle Union, Yasha Jackson, Poppy Liu, Kuhoo Verma, Desi Lydic, Sebastián Yatra, Andrew Call, Troy Iwata, Josephine Huang, Dave Foley, Sam Robards, and Joshua Harto.
SYNOPSIS:
Rex, a Florida party girl, turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumés, but don’t have her smarts, heart, and moxie.
Movies, by nature, require suspension of disbelief—no one denies that. However, there is usually a creative hook that can, at the very least, draw viewers into giving a story a chance, even if it doesn’t turn out satisfactory or rewarding. So, while I can only assume Space Cadet was made because writer/director Liz W. Garcia thought the idea of a comedic angle for astronaut training with mostly ordinary people would be subversive or clever, the film is anything but, with beyond-baffling logical gaps. This is a film that bases its protagonist in Florida, presumably as a means to give a tiny bit of credibility to the lunacy that unfolds.
Emma Roberts’ Tiffany “Rex” Simpson (is this supposed to be a Lisa Simpson reference) was once a child prodigy of all things science before her mother tragically passed away too soon, also throwing her father’s (Sam Robards) mental state into disarray, meaning that she had to look after him and put her astronomical ambitions on pause. Unfortunately, they remained on pause for so long that Rex has fallen into working at a bar, putting those dreams entirely behind her. At a high school reunion, a former friend, Toddrick (Sebastián Yatra), reveals that her passionate intelligence motivated him to pull his life together, eventually becoming an astronaut.
Naturally, this reignites Rex’s desire to go to outer space despite meeting no strict and time-consuming qualifications to join the astronaut training program. She still submits an application based on enthusiasm alone, but not before her airheaded and pregnant best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu) goes behind her back and rewrites it, excessively stretching the truth to such a degree that, quite frankly, it is mind-blowing madness no one would even attempt to fact check or source anything before accepting her. Of course, there is also a scene where the higher-ups conveniently decide that they want to choose more unconventional submissions from this crop of applicants.
Making this film even more embarrassing, Rex immediately starts casually flirting with her handsome director of operations, Logan (Tom Hopper), who obviously freaks out because he is in a position of power as her supervisor. That doesn’t stop the story from embracing an unnecessary romantic subplot that feels forced and then wedged into the asinine ending. Despite how unserious Rex takes everything (including inquiring about having some drinks the night before a simulation begins), she is a smart person and a natural-born leader while also kind to her fellow aspiring astronauts, even going out of her way to help them out in areas of preparation where there may be struggling or trying to ease their self-conscious anxieties.
Strained credibility aside, that also could have made for a worthwhile story of friendship and overcoming adversity, but the script is more concerned with depicting the simulation exercises through a montage and treating it as something to mine for mostly lousy jokes. In comparison, that’s nowhere near as cringe as watching Nadine pretend to be six different personalities over the phone to Logan, acting as professional references in an attempt to confirm Rex’s application. It is unbearably dumb as it sounds, and there is no amount of movie magic in the universe that could make the story here feel even remotely believable. It’s also practically insulting by the time the story attempts to land emotional beats with Rex’s dead mother during the climax.
There are expected clichéd lessons on deceit, but the primary message here also feels misguided. Yes, people should chase whatever dreams they want and whenever they want. However, it also doesn’t sit well that the firm appears to be saying everything will work itself out if you want to lie your way into a position everyone else has dedicated years of experience to just for the opportunity to participate.
If Space Cadet had some self-awareness and perhaps a shot of a newspaper headline, “Florida bartender deceives her way into space,” perhaps the goofiness would work. Instead, it’s played straight with abysmal humor; the film explodes into smithereens during liftoff.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
