Space Camp (PG)

Teen dramedy about space shuttle never lifts off.

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Movie details

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Directed By: Harry Winer
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Kelly Preston, Tate Donovan
Running Time: 107 minutes
Release Date: 06/06/1986
Video/DVD Release Date: 03/02/2004
Genre: Action/adventure
MPAA Rating: PG

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie revolves around a perilous mission on the Space Shuttle, and in light of the Challenger and Columbia disasters, both the tension and the comedy seem inappropriate. Teen campers sneak away from dorms, and a motivated, capable girl learns an overly harsh lesson about leadership.

Families can talk about the sequence of events that lead the campers into actual space flight; is anything about that realistic? In light of shuttle disasters, what precautions do you think are in place to prevent accidental launches? Which characters exhibit the most promising leadership qualities in the crew?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Teens break curfew, are disrespectful of space camp program, and one another's abilities, but repeated admonishments about the importance of teamwork finally sink in.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Ground-based mission control specialists smoke during crisis.

Violence

Younger boy in bullying incident that ends without physical injury, but one of his possessions is broken.

Sex

Teen couple flirts and kisses.

Language

Both campers and instructors swear in stressful situations.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Nancy Davis Kho

In SPACECAMP, filmed on location at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, a motley crew of campers led by an ambitious astronaut must overcome their inexperience when they are mistakenly launched into space without adequate training or supplies. Relying on ingenuity, courage, and a helping hand from the ground-based Mission Control, the crew of five includes teens Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Tate Donovan, and Joaquin Phoenix when he was still young enough to be called Leaf.

Is it any good?

Of the movie's many problems, the worst is timing; it was released six months after the Challenger mission ended in disaster, and nothing about the threat of an inadvertent shuttle launch seems funny or entertaining. The fact that the mistaken launch follows a series of highly implausible actions by a robot who sounds like a cross between E.T. and R2D2 just adds to the misery. The movie is a 1980s set piece, with references to nuclear annihilation, Star Wars, and one "Whip me, Beat me, Take away my charge card!" from Preston, who dresses like Madonna in her "Lucky Star" years.

One place where the movie gets it right is in its respect and awe of the American space program, too often relegated to the back of public consciousness. The NASA training facility and mission control, as well as details of the shuttle's flight, may captivate young astronauts in training.