Space Cadet

PG-13

There’s a trend right now for streaming sites to produce their own content, be it their own shows or in this case feature films, as much as possible. And it has to be said between them all, there’s little in the way of consistency.

Netflix’s approach is to throw as much money at talent and see what hits, if not, just throw even more at Adam Sandler to deliver even more mediocre material.

AppleTV+, probably the most recent to the streaming party, is still trying to find their feet, but appear to be focusing on more cerebral output, and less mainstream.

As far as Amazon is concerned, whose original shows such as The Boys and Fallout appear to be drawing in a crowd, film doesn’t appear to be a priority at this time, as this painfully bad comedy of theirs proves.

boom reviews Space Cadet
I just wanted an easy breezy romcom damnit!

Growing up in Florida, Rex (Emma Roberts) had a dream of going into space. She was knocked back emotionally however when her mum died. This led her to be a bartender, while inventing various things on the side.

After a school reunion, she decides she wants more, and that she still wants to go into space. So she applies to NASA, but not before passing her application over to her friend Nadine (poppy Liu). She decides that it’s not going to do her any favours, so embellishes here, there, and everywhere, before sending it off.

Then Rex gets the news she’s always wanted to get, she’s been accepted onto the training programme. She faces tough competition too, as they whittle the candidates down to just a handful to actually go into space.

Rex feels a little out of place, compared to all the studious candidates she faces, but as they accepted her on her own merits, she trusts the process. Little does she know however, that they’re checking all their backgrounds, with follow up calls to ex colleagues and the like, meaning that she may not be as close to blasting into space as she thinks.

boom reviews Space Cadet
I could be making some real money waitressing right now.

One thing everyone knows when watching a film is this: not every film can be a classic. But as much leeway as you give a film, sometimes there’s just no getting away from it being a real stinker.

Director Liz W. Garcia doesn’t appear to have a concept as to what acting is. Her cast deliver some truly cringing performances, to the point where you would give anything for any form of AI to just take over.

She’s not helped by an awful script either, but as she wrote it, she only has herself to blame.

It’s the type of film that can make you physically ill from watching it, such is the amateurish nature of the entire production.

There’s also a struggle as to the character of the main protagonist, played by Roberts; is she a bumbling, female version of Bill and Ted, or is she a brilliant mind? These are just too far apart to work, and it clearly doesn’t on screen, making for an awkward leading character.

And if that wasn’t enough, its underlying message is this: you can get what whatever you want from life if you’re prepared to cheat for it, which is a wonderful point for younger members of its audience to take away.

There’s a hint of trashy eighties flicks about it, where nonsensical plots and themes were all the rage, which may well mean it’s destined to be a cult classic, but in truth, even that sounds too much of a stretch.

Considering this was far from being a big budget production, with a truly forgettable cast, this is clearly just fodder for Amazon’s site. But there really needs to be some quality control in place because this kind of output is nothing more than an insult to audiences. So whatever you do, don’t watch this space.

we give this two of five