The Astronaut Farmer (PG): C Extras: C

There is something to be said about a movie that encourages you to believe in the impossible, follow your dreams and support your family unconditionally. There is also something to be said for overkill, and this movie has plenty of all these ingredients.\nThe premise is as ridiculous as the name promises. A former astronaut (Billy Bob Thornton) builds a rocket in the barn of his Texas farm -- although we never see the man do any actual farming. Though the townsfolk call him crazy, he is determined to launch himself into space with little more than the love of a woman (Virginia Madsen), the engineering skills of his 15-year-old son and a bank account that suspiciously never dries up.\nAs usual, Thornton is a winner. The man can play an "everyman" character like nobody else, and Madsen and the rest of the cast hold their own. Even so, the hour and 41 minutes of the film drag because, let's face it, we all know how it's going to end before we even put it in the DVD player.\nExpect no surprises from the extras, either. There's the making-of documentary with cast and crew pouring on the schmaltz about how they became a family during the filmmaking process. The features are rounded out with a NASA astronaut interview and more than eight minutes of outtakes. This excruciatingly long blooper reel is worth watching only for the "Sling Blade" impression Thornton does at the end. \nThis movie is not bad, but not great. I suppose it might be a fair alternative if you go to the video store and every other movie with the plot "family man gives a finger to the naysayers and overcomes great obstacles to achieve his long-lost dream" has already been rented. Otherwise, stick to movies such as "The Rookie," which did this plot before and better than this movie.