Space Cadet Review: Emma Roberts Movie is Far Removed From Reality

– No Spoilers –

This Emma Roberts new film is all about finding your dreams and making them come true. The 110-minute comedy film is all set to inspire viewers to shoot for the stars, quite literally. It follows Tiffany “Rex” Simpson, a woman whose only dream was to go to space but due to certain unfortunate turn of events she wasn’t able to make those dreams come true. Years later, possessed by the need to turn her life around, Rex applies for NASA’s space training programme but without any proper education and training, she must rely on her wits to make it to the end and get selected for a lifetime opportunity before her cover is blown.

Emma Roberts plays Tiffany “Rex” Simpson, a manic pixie girl with a dream to go to space but without any of the degrees or the work experience necessary to go to NASA. They say that watching a movie requires one to suspend disbelief and get into whatever the story is for optimal experience but I am left to wonder, right from the first moment, whether or not NASA would thoroughly vet the candidates who are applying to go to Mars spending a ton of tax money or whether these people would be selected the moment their applications reach their office without a second thought.

There’s a point in Space Cadet film where Rex is left astonished after reading her alleged cover letter which mentions that she is a Pulitzer Prize winner among other things and I would wonder if this would make it very easy for anyone vetting candidates to realise that this is a lie but apparently not. She goes through all of these tough processes thanks to her quirky nature and natural talent for moon watching and glides right through everything, along with her hard-working and talented fellow candidates who have gone through many hardships in order to deserve the right to be there.

Things just go downhill from there – being a comedy film, the humour is hardly there and the film relies on the same-old comedy routines in similar shows to make us take notice. The loud screaming and odd behaviours make you cringe considering Roberts has been doing similar roles in different movies – the character is the same, it’s only the circumstances that are different. But more than the lapse of logic or the cringe comedy bits, it’s that Space Cadets is so utterly boring that really gets to you. There’s nothing in the movie to keep you occupied and the plot points feel like they have been strung together to entertain us, considering how random everything feels.

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Rex’s dreams and ambitions, though, are relatable although not the way she reaches NASA. Having had to give up her life-long dream due to family circumstances can be tough on anyone and her resilience is what makes you root for her. Although Rex needs a little bit more nuance and tact in her character, there’s something charming about her. Roberts is fun as Rex and plays her well, although that’s all that I can say about that. There’s also very little chemistry among the different characters, whether it be between Rex and her colleagues or Rex and Logan. You don’t feel their passion or their enthusiasm for this exciting new chapter in life and it makes for a lukewarm watch.

But what really grinds my gears about Space Cadet is that its conflict is so out of the realm of realism that it makes you question your sanity. You know that this random twist comes up just because Rex needs to prove her mettle to everyone and live her dream but that’s not how that works. I am pretty sure that you need to go through a lot of studying and real experience to be able to fix the ISS; a bartender from Florida with big dreams is not going to cut it. The last half of the movie is hilariously unhinged and if you’re someone who likes to have light, forgettable fun, this might just hit the spot for that.

Space Cadet Review: Final Thoughts

This movie doesn’t deal with realistic situations and neither does it give you conflicts and characters that are remotely believable. Viewres who like to have fun with their movies and immediately forget about them will be able to have a swell time. But suspending your disbelief feels like an art form when you’re dealing with Space Cadet – one that needs to be learnt long before you plan to watch this.

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