RocketMan (1997)

Fred Z. Randall is geeky and obnoxious spacecraft designer, who gets the chance to make his dream come true and travel to Mars as a member of the first manned flight there.

Director:

Stuart Gillard

Writers:

Oren Aviv (story), Craig Mazin (story),

Stars:

Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harland Williams	...	Fred Z. Randall
Jessica Lundy	...	Julie Ford
William Sadler	...	'Wild Bill' Overbeck
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Paul Wick
James Pickens Jr.	...	Ben Stevens
Beau Bridges	...	Bud Nesbitt
Peter Onorati	...	Gary Hackman
Don Lake	...	Flight Surgeon
Bill Jenkins	...	Mission Controller (as William Arthur Jenkins)
Ken Farmer	...	Mission Controller
Blake Boyd	...	Gordon A. Peacock
Brandon Kaplan	...	Young Fred
Paxton Whitehead	...	British Reporter
Don Armstrong	...	Anchorman
Pamela West	...	Nun

Storyline

Fred Z. Randall is geeky and obnoxious spacecraft designer, who gets the chance to make his dream come true and travel to Mars as a member of the first manned flight there.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to a white picket fence | title based on song | flatulence | chimpanzee

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Taglines:

One Man's Dream... Is NASA's Nightmare!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, crude humor and thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Come ho conquistato Marte

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,472,937 (USA) (10 October 1997)

Gross:

$15,448,043 (USA) (2 January 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Gold/Miller Productions, Roger Birnbaum Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the surface of Mars, the filmmakers shot in Moab, Utah, where they found giant cliffs, red rocks, a lack of vegetation, and the overall scale of what could be a distant planet.

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Goofs

When Fred is boarding the Shuttle, he does so on his own, as the other two astronauts are already on board. This is incorrect as all three astronauts would board the Shuttle at the same time, as they would with a real mission.

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Quotes

Bud Nesbitt: Look, it was an accident.
Fred Randall: Oh, sure, sure it was. Just like the captain of the Exxon-Valdez didn't see Alaska floating there right in front of him!

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Crazy Credits

Thanks is given to the "McDonald Douglas" aerospace corporation. The actual name of the company is "McDonnell Douglas".

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Connections

References Apollo 13 (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Tossin' & Turnin'"
Rick Riso

User Reviews

Excellent Comedy

In the vein of classic Jerry Lewis movies, Rocket Man is an excellent piece of entertainment. If you don't like silliness, don't bother. The cast and crew of Rocket Man has worked well together to make this an enjoyable experience. If you love to laugh, watch Rocket Man.