SPACE CADET – A Review by John Strange
Rex Simpson (Emma Roberts) was a brilliant young girl from Cocoa Beach, Florida, who watched the launches at Canaveral from across the bay with her mom and the rest of the locals. And as they watched, they talked of her someday becoming an astronaut.
But life stepped up and slapped her. Hard. Ten years later she is tending bar and wrestling gators for the tourists instead of heading out of Earth’s atmosphere.
But then her 10th high school reunion forces her to take a close look within herself. She decides that she must try to become an astronaut, despite her lack of qualifications.
How she gets into the program, what happens during her time as an “AsCan”, and afterwards is a story that turned out to be surprisingly fun to watch. The story is leavened with exceptional talent such as Dave Foley (as Rudolph Bolton), Gabrielle Union (as Pam Proctor), Tom Hopper (as Logan O’Leary), and Sam Robards (as Rex’s Dad, Calvin).
Space Cadet is a fun watch but don’t expect to see another Space Camp. This one has some serious scenes, but it is mainly a comedy. As I have said since I started writing these reviews nearly 40 years ago, summer movies are more fun to watch when you check your brain at the door. This is one of those films. Enjoy.
Director: Liz W. Garcia
Cast: Emma Roberts, Tom Hopper, Poppy Liu and Gabrielle Union, Kuhoo Verma, Desi Lydic, Sebastián Yatra, Yasha Jackson, Andrew Call, Troy Iwata, Josephine Huang, Dave Foley, Sam Robards, Joshua Harto
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for some strong language and brief drug references)
Selig Rating: 4.5 Stars
Runtime: 110 Min.
Release Date: 07/04/2024
Release Location: Amazon Prime Video
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Trailer: SPACE CADET Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
