The Astronaut Farmer is an out-of-this-world family film.

Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) is an ex-air force pilot who's new goal is to orbit earth in his homemade rocket. Once authorities (which include Jon Gries, Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite) catch wind of Farmer's plan, things become more than complicated for this space cowboy.

After the media discovers the idea and begins camping out on Farmer's land, the intergalactic wannabe becomes determined to see space.

Farmer's first attempt fails miserably and leaves him injured.

With love and support of his wife, Audie (Virginia Madsen), and family, Farmer's fantasy becomes a reality when he finally reaches orbit in his ironically named homemade capsule, "The Dreamer."

While the movie could have been a sappy, loves and faith conquers all metaphor, the movie is more about following lifelong dreams. Director Michael Polish focused on this aspect of the movie and made it work. Viewers forgot that it is probably or next to impossible to construct a space rocket on a shoestring budget. They left the theater thinking anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

"It was the most inspiring piece of work I've seen so far," freshmen Seth Cunningham said.

Freshman Kyle Mears said he really enjoyed the space voyaging flick.

"It was a great movie!," he said.

The Astronaut Farmer was released February 23.