Space Station 76 is an upcoming sci-fi black comedy. It’s the first directing gig for Jack Plotnick, known mostly for his acting in Meet The Fockers and Rubber. The movie stars Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler and Matt Bomer, among others. It’s set in a “70’s version of the future”, where a group of people live together on a space station. Let’s watch the trailer.

It’s not a secret I’m a huge science fiction buff. I have seen my fair share of seventies sci-fi, and while I love my science fiction, I’m not sure if I’m on board for Space Station 76. I’m of two minds: on the one hand, it’s kind of fun to see such typical tropes of 70’s sci-fi being poked fun at (I admit I had to giggle at the cigarette lighter popping out during the serious mysterious pilot arriving scene, with the blinking lights everywhere).They even parody the CGI of the time.

On the other hand, the jokes are a bit easy (the “help” during yoga, the hand having “a mind of its own” – ha ha ha, how original) and in all honesty, it comes off belittling toward a genre that’s already been poked fun at so much. It’s a bit old. Why do we need a movie that makes fun of seventies science fiction, now that science fiction is doing so well? It feels like this movie should have been made late 90’s, early 00’s.

Credit must be given, though: Sandra Burns and Sarah Brown, responsible for costume design, sure did their background research. Love the seventies sci-fi costuming and hairdos. I sure can appreciate that. Moreover, I love the poster for the movie, which is clearly inspired by the seventies Star Wars posters – including Liv Tyler‘s blank stare.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so serious about Space Station 76, and should just enjoy the ride. Although… I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see it – unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Space Station 76 was shown at SXSW in March, but has yet to get official release dates.

What do you think of Space Station 76? Sound off in the comments, I’m very curious to hear whether you agree with me or not!

(top image source: Sony Pictures Worldwide)