Space Cadet Writer/Director Liz W. Garcia on Embracing Film Traditions for Quirky Comedy

The filmmaker revived classic concepts for the new comedy.

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The comedy genre has evolved in countless ways over the decades, with movie audiences reacting differently to a variety of approaches from filmmakers. While some movies have gone absurd, outlandish, or unconventional, some classics never go out of style, which is exactly something writer/director Liz W. Garcia considered when developing her movie Space Cadet. Not only did Garcia herself look to classics starring Goldie Hawn and Reese Witherspoon, but she also enlisted Emma Roberts to star in the movie, who had a similar affinity for the classics. Space Cadet is set to arrive on Prime Video on July 4th.

"I knew her to be a person who in real life really makes me laugh," Garcia admitted to ComicBook of how she knew Roberts was the right performer to tackle the project. "She's very, very witty, she's very clever, and she also really understood what the movie was that I wanted to make. And it was the movie that she wanted to make, too. She wanted to do her Goldie Hawn moment, Private Benjamin, Legally Blonde. She knew that it would require her to be big and goofy and she was like all in. So I really could not have asked for anything more."

Prime Video describes Space Cadet, "Tiffany 'Rex' Simpson (Emma Roberts) has always dreamed of going to space, but life isn't going quite as planned. Determined to turn things around, she aims high and with the embellishing touch of her supportive best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu), her 'doctored' application lands her in NASA's ultra-competitive astronaut training program. In over her head, Rex relies on her quick wits, moxie, and determination to get to the top of her class. NASA program directors Pam (Gabrielle Union) and Logan (Tom Hopper) certainly take notice, but can this Florida girl get through training and into the cosmos before she blows her cover? Written and directed by Liz W. Garcia (Purple Hearts, The Sinner), Space Cadet is a comedy about the power of being yourself, following your dreams, and shooting for the stars."  

A difficult challenge for any movie featuring a character who is out of their element is ensuring that they are merely overwhelmed yet aren't inherently ignorant, with Garcia expressing why it's such a relatable approach to a comedy.

"There are film traditions for that kind of thing. It's what every underdog story winds up being, is that an audience wants to relate to a character in the sense that we all feel overwhelmed," the filmmaker pointed out. "We all feel like imposter syndrome, but the thing that makes it a movie and makes the person a protagonist, a hero or heroine, is that they have a talent, right? They have a skill. And so that's what I was leaning into, is also this idea that on some level we all feel like we have something to offer that isn't seen, and giving her the package doesn't look like it's going to be impressive and up to par, but it is."

Embracing that spirit of reviving classics is a scene in which the characters perform "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows at karaoke, though Garcia admitted that the movie nearly went even further back into karaoke classics.

"The song that I had in the script was 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' by Meat Loaf, which is an amazing song, amazing karaoke song," Garcia confirmed. "It's like eight minutes long. So I had to pivot and I'm very happy with where we ended up."

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Space Cadet lands on Prime Video on July 4th.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!   

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