Such is the buzz regarding the deep-space comedy, in which the titular station’s cramped and hormonal crew find their mission complicated considerably with the arrival of the new, female assistant captain, Veronica Cor- I mean, Jessica, as played by Liv Tyler. The genre spoof also stars Patrick Wilson as our mustachio’d, machismo buffoon, presumably with a love of scotch and a mahogany-scented, leatherbound hard drive stocked with the classics.
Since Anchorman 2 was basically terrible, and it feels like decades since Hollywood’s produced a non-rom com, Space Station 76 is feeling incredibly timely at this point. The similarities between it and the Will Ferrell modern classic might seem a bit too close for comfort, given Wilson’s curiously baritone voice and the 70s aesthetic (unless that’s residual Guardians of the Galaxy or Space Dandy influence), but again, that hardly matters. You can stick Anchorman onto basically any genre at this point and I’m completely game: WWII drama? ‘No shooting of the hair or face.’ Post-apocalyptic disaster? Let’s bunker up in the last functional scotch brewery in the world and mow down zombies with inexplicable hand grenades.
While being light on concrete gags, the trailer at least shows dedication to its vision of desperate, tanned, and awkward middle-agers in space. The film originally debuted at SXSW this year and doesn’t seem to have a release date just yet, but as its the first worthwhile-looking parody of its kind in a long time, it’s carrying all my unreasonable hopes and dreams.
