Susan Granger’s review of “Space Station 76” (Sony Pictures)
Do you remember the hilarious sci-fi comedy “Galaxy Quest” (1999)? I suspect that’s what that these filmmakers had in mind – but, unfortunately, their farce fizzles.
Set sometime in the 1970s, the melodramatic plot – which could be called “lust in space” – takes place aboard Omega 76, an interplanetary Space Station, as a newly-appointed assistant captain, Jessica Marlowe (Liv Tyler), arrives on-board. While valiantly attempting to work with brazenly chauvinistic, closeted Captain Glenn (Patrick Wilson), she discovers that he had an affair with her hunky predecessor who departed under mysterious circumstances. Glenn is in such lovelorn despair that, at one point, he tries to commit suicide by electrocuting himself in the bathtub, which the ship’s sophisticated safety features adroitly prevent.
Also aboard are several adulterous couples. There’s self-absorbed, pill-popping Misty (Marisa Coughlan) and her neglected little girl, Sunshine (Kylie Rogers), whose father is Ted (Matt Bomer of TV’s White Collar”), a frustrated, pot-smoking engineer with a prosthetic hand. New mother Donna (Kali Rocha) is coping with an infant, while her husband Steve (Jerry O’Connell) is having an affair with Misty.
Problem is: it’s just not funny, which can probably be traced back to having five screenwriters – Jack Plotnick, Jennifer Cox, Sam Pancake, Kali Rocha, and Michael Stoyanov – whose collaboration is never cohesive. Co-writer Jack Plotnick makes his feature film directing debut, eliciting earnest performances from his experienced ensemble. It’s fun to spot Keir Dullea (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) doing a cameo and “Star Wars” fans will recognize an R2D2-like psycho-babbling droid dispensing Valium.
The soundtrack features ‘70s tunes by Todd Rundgren, among others. FYI: Liv Tyler was born Liv Rundgren, although her biological father is Steven Tyler. Her mother, model/singer Bebe Buell, had an affair with Tyler during her longtime relationship with Rundgren, who claimed paternity although he knew the truth. Liv now has a close relationship with both rocker dads.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Space Station 76” is a retro-futuristic 4. It’s a “Saturday Night Live” sketch that goes on far too long.
