Ex-astronaut-in-training Charles Farmer had to quit the program in order to go back and save his family farm. But he can't quite give up his dream and, with the help of his co-conspirator wife and kids, plans to soar heavenward from a rocket independently created in his own back yard.

	Click photo for larger image. 'The Astronaut Farmer' Director: Michael Polish Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Max Thieriot Rating: PG for thematic material, peril and language Web site: theastronautfarmermovie.warnerbros.com/ Related articles Billy Bob Thornton stays grounded while film prepares to blast off Family Film Guide

Yeah, right. But this is the Wrong Stuff. Charlie has been buying up large quantities of dangerously high-grade fuel, and it's only a matter of time before NASA, the FAA, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security -- not to mention the media -- come after him.

Billy Bob Thornton occupies the title role of "The Astronaut Farmer" and, with his sunny optimism and Southern twang, gives a charming performance as the sweet-tempered loser whose determination and goodness win out.

Virginia Madsen plays his equally sweet and gentle wife, supportive even when her dreamer-husband puts the family deep in debt and ridicule rains down on them from all sides. Sweetest of all is their teenage son Shepherd (Max Thieriot), subtly but surely named for America's astro-pioneer Alan.

The trailers -- indeed, the whole concept -- of this film seem fairly ridiculous. I expected the worse but found it refreshing: the fond, untroubled relationship between husband and wife; the believable family dynamic, squabbling around the dinner table; even the presence of weird grampa Bruce Dern, looking frail, fragile and damaged.

Cliched characters -- such as "must-pay-the-rent" banker villains trying to foreclose on the farm -- mar the proceedings. But pleasant surprises include Bruce Willis (in a cameo role as Farmer's old space-shuttle commander pal) and a nice zinger or two during Farmer's FAA hearing:

"How do we know you aren't constructing a WMD?" a committee member asks.

"Because, sir," he replies politely, "if I was building a weapon of mass destruction, you wouldn't be able to find it."

Two nifty launch scenes, when they finally come, prove worth waiting for, with tastefully minimal F/X.

Director Michael Polish and his writer-brother Mark Polish are best known for their astonishingly bleak, potent "Twin Falls Idaho," channeling the Coen brothers and David Lynch. This time, they channel the escapist warmth of Steven Spielberg -- American Gothic meets boyhood wish-fulfillment. The familiar message ("If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing") is tied in with the character-vs.-career-development virtues of patience and persistence.

Charlie Farmer's "Field of Dreams," albeit a bit corny, is superior to Kevin Costner's because it's not supernatural. If only the Brothers Polish could have eschewed or condensed the soap-operatic ending. What is it with directors these days? Like politicians, they don't know when to cut and run.

But never mind. "Astronaut Farmer" is fine, wholesome family fare. And three guesses as to what Elton John song plays perfectly under the final credits.