Review of The Astronaut's Wife (1999) by Mark W — 26 May 2011

Johnny Depp is one of those actors who has consistantly made brave choices throughout his career. There are few actors like him and although some of his choices work better than others, this is one that I'm sure he'd rather forget.

Jillian (Charlize Theron) lovingly greets her space-rocketeer husband Spencer (Johnny Depp) home from a mission, but after a mishap she soon begins to suspect that Spencer is not the same man and fears she may have been impregnated by an alien.

Although this a career move Depp would rather forget, he can't be entirely blamed for the end product. He's not in it enough to make any major impact and whenever he is, he's reduced to a few sinister, brooding facial expressions. Theron's character is the main focus here and despite her attempts at depth, she can't save the film from being mind-numbingly boring and uneventful. She also sports a short blonde hairdo to further fuel the comparisons with "Rosemary's Baby" during her pregnant paranoia. This is one of those straight to DVD films that remind you why not all films deserve a mainstream release. It's pretty dire to say the least and you're more likely to find more suspense while waiting on a bus. Quite possibly one of, if not the, worst of Johnny Depp's films.

Despite the lead actors involved, steer well clear of this stinker. Do yourself a favour and watch Roman Polanski's earlier horror masterpiece instead. He'll show you how it's done.