Review: Space Station 76

Crafted as if created in the Seventies, Space Station 76 may struggle to sustain the viewer's interest once its novelty wears off.

The opening narration portends trouble aboard the titular space station: "The more you try to create a paradise, the more you will resent the prison. And all you're left with are dreams of a future...that never happened." Indeed the characters who populate this intergalactic hothouse of unhappiness are seeking some sort of paradise lost. Captain Glenn (Patrick Wilson), in constant battle with his repressed homosexuality, yearns for his transferred love; he shuns interaction and can barely tolerate working with his new second-in-command, a woman named Jessica Marlowe (Liv Tyler), whose presence rankles hot and bothered housewife Misty (Marisa Coughlan). Though neglectful of both her husband Ted (Matt Bomer) and daughter Sunshine (Kylie Rogers), she resents their increasing attraction and affection for this independent and career-minded woman. Never mind that Misty is having an affair with Steve (Jerry O'Connell), whose ridiculously upbeat wife Donna (Kali Rocha) is oblivious to it all.

If this all sounds like a sci-fi retread of the dysfunctional families in The Ice Storm with equally impeccable production and costume design, it is. Yet while Ang Lee's adaptation of Rick Moody's novel had intent, director Jack Plotnick's adaptation of his own stage play does not. While played as a straight soap opera, there are strong doses of near tongue-in-cheek Ron Burgundy humour that leave one slightly confused: is it a drama with comedic overtones or a satirical melodrama?

As a drama, it gets a bit boring and aimless. When Plotnick focuses on the era-appropriate sexual politics and self-help movement, Space Station 76 becomes an engaging and chuckle-filled commentary of the times. Scenes with Dr. Bot, the pre-programmed therapist with whom both Captain Glenn and Misty interact, are a particular delight. Played to both comedic and dramatic effect by Wilson and Coughlan, who are both aces, the scenes also feature Dr. Bot's chuckle-inducing platitudes: "Live in the now, not the then!" And best of all: "I'm going to up your dosage of Valium to...as much as you'd like!"

Elsewhere, a cameo by 2001: A Space Odyssey star Keir Dullea punctuates the film's many nods to Stanley Kubrick and his ilk.

Space Station 76

Directed by: Jack Plotnick

Written by: Jack Plotnick, Jennifer Elise Cox, Sam Pancake, Kali Rocha, Michael Stoyanov; adapted from their stage play

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler, Matt Bomer, Marisa Coughlan, Jerry O'Connell, Kali Rocha, Kylie Rogers, Keir Dullea