‘Space Cowboys’ Offers Camaraderie That’s Hard To Beat

It’s official. Summer 2000 has been little match for last year. I’m not talking about box office grosses, though those are lagging behind as well, but general quality and variety of films. Whereas last summer gave us such selections as The Matrix, Notting Hill, The Mummy, Tarzan, Star Wars: Episode I, The Sixth Sense, Runaway Bride, The Thomas Crown Affair and Austin Powers 2, this year we’ve gotten a number of decently serviceable yet hardly breakout flicks. Space Cowboys, which is now playing, isn’t exactly the remedy, but it’s a fine example of a good, summertime mass entertainment.

Space Cowboys, the good movie with a funny name, stars Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner as maverick Air Force test pilots who in 1958 were passed over for the chance to get in on the ground floor of space exploration. Flash forward to the present day, where NASA is in a bit of a bind: a Soviet satellite is suffering a decaying orbit and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere unless its guidance system can be fixed. NASA honchos, assisting the Russians in this crisis, have been unable to access the satellite’s command center because of its antiquated system, one designed by former flyboy Frank Corvin (Eastwood). When enlisted for his help, Corvin agrees to lend a hand on the condition that he and his Air Force buddies are allowed to go up in the space shuttle and do the repair job themselves.

Joining Frank on this mission improbable to the stars are Hank (Jones), a care-free, bordering on reckless, pilot who still doesn’t play by the rules; Tank (Garner), a former curmudgeon turned Baptist minister; and Jerry (Sutherland), a randy ladies’ man who is also an unmatched structural engineer. The four old school pilots must first pass muster on all the physical requirements for today’s astronauts before they can risk life and limb on their daunting space mission.

Eastwood, who also directed the film, really seems to be enjoying himself. The senior age of the principals is obviously a major point of the movie, and Eastwood attacks this aspect with gusto. From a literally “cheeky” shot of the four pilots during their physical to a running gag on the number of their former friends who have since passed away, Clintwood and company do not shy away from tackling their maturity. However, that should come as no real surprise to audiences because Eastwood has been addressing his advancing age since the early Nineties with such films as Unforgiven and In the Line of Fire. What may be a little more surprising is the high level of comfort he shares with his co-stars, whom he gives the splashier roles of the film: while Eastwood plays the contented married man, his co-stars get to play the more eccentric, scene-stealing parts.

Along with the big screen veteran quartet, the film also features James Cromwell, Marcia Gay Harden, William Devane and Barbara Babcock. With so many old pros at the helm, Space Cowboys could not be anything but a proficient enterprise. Though it is fourth out of the gate, it beats the similarly themed Deep Impact, Armageddon and Mission to Mars as sturdily constructed entertainment. It’s hard to top the camaraderie of Eastwood, Jones, Garner and Sutherland — especially as they face off against young whippersnappers and double-crossing bosses — and their genuine sense of excitement in finally being in outer space and having the opportunity to look down upon Earth in awe.

Space Cowboys is rated PG-13 for salty language and a brief glimpse of the four actors’ backsides.