{"id":7698,"date":"2024-10-30T23:19:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=7698"},"modified":"2024-10-30T23:19:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:19:42","slug":"spacecamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/30\/spacecamp\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceCamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"SpaceCamp <\/strong>(1986)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ABC Motion Pictures\/Sci-Fi-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 107 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (language, intense scenes)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Harry Winer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: W.W. Wicket and Casey T. Mitchell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: William A. Fraker\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 6, 1986 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Larry B. Scott, Leaf Phoenix (Joaquin Phoenix), Tate Donovan, Tom Skerritt, Barry Primus, Terry O\u2019Quinn, Mitchell Anderson, T. Scott Coffey, Daryl Roach.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $9.6M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s not hard to understand why SpaceCamp<\/strong> bombed at the box office. It came out less than five months after the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff (January 28, 1986). The tragedy was still fresh in the minds of the American moviegoing public; the last thing they wanted to see was a movie about a group of teens and their female teacher accidentally launched into space on a shuttle that isn\u2019t flight ready. What was supposed to be lighthearted summer entertainment turned into a \u201cmarketing nightmare\u201d for the studio. How do you sell a film tainted by a real-life disaster? It turns out you can\u2019t. It made less than $10 million not even recouping half its budget.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The truth is SpaceCamp<\/strong> isn\u2019t all that bad a movie. That is to say, it isn\u2019t terrible. It\u2019s just deeply flawed. It\u2019s predictable and far-fetched, the characters are one-dimensional and it has more plot holes than you can shake a stick at. It also feels rushed especially at the end. At the same, it\u2019s entertaining on the level of a silly 80s summer sci-fi movie aimed at kids and young teens. If you grew up in the Reagan era, it has a nostalgic feel that makes it kind of fun.<\/p>\n

\u00a0After once again being denied a place on a shuttle mission, astronaut Andie Bergstrom (Capshaw, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) agrees to be an instructor at NASA\u2019s space training program for scientific-minded youngsters. Her \u201cBlue Team\u201d is composed of the usual teen archetypes- bossy, know-it-all Kathryn (Thompson, Back to the Future), arrogant preppie Kevin (Donovan, Memphis Belle), Valley Girl Tish (Preston, Secret Admirer), token black guy Rudy (Scott, Revenge of the Nerds) and smart little kid Max (Phoenix, Parenthood). Naturally, they have a hard time working together, an issue that causes them to fail a flight simulation test.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Each kid has a defining trait or two. Kathryn idolizes Andie and is understandably hurt when she appoints Kevin as \u201cShuttle Commander\u201d because he needs a lesson in taking responsibility. Tish comes off as ditzy, but is actually a genius with a photographic memory. Rudy, who wants to open the first fast food franchise in space, loves science but isn\u2019t very good at it. Max, an eager little guy determined to run with the big kids, loves Star Wars and often pretends he\u2019s Luke Skywalker. There\u2019s also a cute little robot named Jinx (voice actor Welker) whose malfunction is that he takes everything too literally. He and Max become \u201cfriends forever\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In a plot turn that defies logic, the Blue Team is selected to be the lucky campers allowed to sit inside a real space shuttle during engine testing. Through an unbelievable set of circumstances, a situation occurs that forces ground control to launch the shuttle into space in order to avoid an explosion. With no means of long range communication and not enough oxygen to make it to the nearest window, the team has to learn to work together to make it back home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by Harry Winer (House Arrest), SpaceCamp<\/strong> doesn\u2019t really distinguish itself in any way other than promoting the real Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. We\u2019ve met these character types before- with the possible exception of Preston\u2019s Madonna-be teen- in similar life-or-death scenarios. Capshaw\u2019s character is the classic type who just needs one chance to prove herself to the men at NASA including her husband (Skerritt, Alien), a former astronaut who has been to space. Even the robot is familiar. He\u2019s like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit (released a month earlier) only less intelligent. The plot contains no surprises. Events unfold like clockwork and lead to the expected outcome each time. This, however, is the least of the movie\u2019s problems. It has a bigger one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Actually, it\u2019s a big problem composed of several little ones. I\u2019m referring the to the screenplay\u2019s holes and gaps in logic. If you really think about it, SpaceCamp<\/strong> doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. For example, how is it that the Blue Team gets to sit in the shuttle? For that matter, who are they even up against? We never meet any of the other teams. Shouldn\u2019t they have a bitter rival? Where\u2019s the conflict? ANYWAY, let\u2019s momentarily set aside the disbelief that NASA would actually go for such a thing. Let\u2019s also assume that none of the instructors question the Blue Team winning the honor even though they can plainly see first-hand that something\u2019s hinky. The Blue Team is NOT the best team yet it\u2019s only a matter of minutes of screen time between them \u201cdying\u201d in their simulated flight and entering the shuttle. Where\u2019s the montage of them finally getting their act together to the tune of some cheesy rock song by Survivor? This can be answered away by explaining that Jinx hacks the computer system to make sure Max and the others get chosen, but it raises yet another question. How is it none of the tech geeks at NASA detect this beforehand. Isn\u2019t it part of their job? Aren\u2019t they supposed to be the best in their field? A guy could go mental thinking about it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0And then there\u2019s the ending. Without going into too much detail, it\u2019s rushed. Once the crisis is resolved, it stops without tying up a few minor loose ends. Shouldn\u2019t there at least be a celebratory scene of some kind where everybody welcomes them home?<\/p>\n

\u00a0To its credit, SpaceCamp<\/strong> has a winning cast and a love for science that clearly shines through. The special effects are cheesy by today\u2019s standards, but look good for their time. In general, it\u2019s an entertaining movie as long as you don\u2019t think about it too hard. Myself, I enjoy it, flaws and all.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SpaceCamp (1986)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ABC Motion Pictures\/Sci-Fi-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 107 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (language, intense scenes)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Harry Winer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: W.W. Wicket and Casey T. Mitchell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: William A. Fraker\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 6, 1986 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Larry B. Scott, Leaf Phoenix (Joaquin Phoenix), Tate Donovan, Tom Skerritt, Barry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/SpaceCamp-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7698"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7892,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7698\/revisions\/7892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}