The American Astronaut

This musical epic is unlike anything I (or anyone I know) have ever laid eyes on.

Mott Hupfel II's noirish photography, Pete Beaudreau's smooth editing, and McAbee's wry script are all wonderful, and Dawn Weisberg's costumes are especially killing.

Doesn't really have a climax that works, making you wonder whether all the nutso plot machinations were worth following. Maybe, maybe not. But there were a number of skewed bits that popped out and put a chuckle into this journey.

Much of Astronaut comes off as tedious and self-amused, but the musical vignettes are fun.

Quickly becomes an endurance test: like watching an old Carol Burnett skit that's not working, or a high school play that's trying to be bad.

The best part of this proudly absurd experience is the music.

The fleeting moments of dry wit are too sparse to hold the movie together, so instead McAbee takes the kitchen-sink approach, hitting us with whatever he's got.