I
had the opportunity to read the screenplay for SPACE COWBOYS prior to the film's
production. I wasn't very impressed with it at the time, but I had every hope
that Clint Eastwood and his cast of aging "good ole boys," would save
the day. Thankfully, they did just that. The story begins in 1958. The members of Team Daedalus, a group of top Air Force test pilots selected as the first Americans in space, are replaced by NASA with a chimpanzee (and seven other guys who went on to become the astronauts we all know and love). The Daedalus Team, forgotten by history, finished their careers and retired. But their dream of going into space never died.
Four decades later, the Russian satellite Ikon has suffered a systems failure that Russian officials insist will cause a total communications blackout in their country and perhaps civil war. Strangely, Ikon has the same guidance system as the early American Space Station Skylab Though some, including flight director Eugene Davis (WILLIAM DEVANE), wonder how an American guidance system got on a cold war Russian satellite, NASA deducts that only the original designer of that system can fix it. Reluctantly, NASA official Bob Gerson (JAMES CROMWELL) calls in his old Daedalus team captain, Frank Corvin (CLINT EASTWOOD) although he'd almost rather have Russian civil war than ask for his help. There's no love lost between these two since it was Gerson who had a hand in replacing Corvin's Team Daedalus with chimps.
Now retired, Corvin is the one man alive who can do the job. This is the chance of a lifetime but Frank won’t take it unless he can bring along the only crew he trusts to do the job - Team Daedalus. That team consists of Hawk Hawkins (TOMMY LEE JONES), Jerry O’Neil (DONALD SUTHERLAND) and Tank Sullivan (JAMES GARNER). Corvin gets his wish but it doesn't come without a price.
Make no mistake - SPACE COWBOYS doesn't have a message any more serious than "old guys can have fun too." It's not going to win any awards or be heralded by the critics. And it doesn't have to. It's all about a good time, and SPACE COWBOYS delivers.
If someone goes into this SPACE COWBOYS as a purist (film or space, it doesn't matter) they will probably hate this movie. But this film is a tall tale, a yarn told by an aging man with a twinkle in his eye. I mean, does anyone believe that Paul Bunyan's adventures really happened and that there was a giant blue ox named "Babe?" Of course not. But it doesn't matter, it's great fairy tale. So it is with Clint's version of "The Right Stuff."