Blue-collar science fiction is a time-honored tradition. Silent Running, Dark Star, Outland, and Moon all demonstrate a conceit wherein corporate overlords screw over the working man. Oftentimes, these films take place around the orbit of the Moon or somewhere we haven’t yet been in the solar system. With writer-director Berton Pierce’s Adventurados, we see a film devoted to truckers in space; Irish ones at that.
Spyre (David Masterson) and Frug (Stephen Patrick Hanna) are space truckers nearing the end of their careers. Existing most of their life in the vacuum of space requires some coping mechanisms. For Spyre, this is watching the interspace television offerings. For Frug, he spacewalks and meditates on the cruelty of fate that nothing on his cargo vessel ever works. Facing the prospect of a subpar retirement package, the two business partners and friends agree to an off-the-book shipping job for the massive interstellar corporation Blackburton.
Promised a payday ten times the fee for this hush-hush mission, Spyre and Frug accept with some trepidation. These third-generation clones, the most expendable and useless of clones, are joined by Dru (Gabrielle Miller), who is safeguarding Blackburton’s cargo. The trio has comedic run-ins with Canadian Russian highwaymen, Union Pilots, and a computer interface that only speaks Spanish. Nevertheless, they are determined to prevail, as the fee they will receive upon successful completion will enable them to find somewhere quiet to live and flirt with the pretty local girls. As you may surmise, they plan on retiring somewhere tropical.
“Facing the prospect of a subpar retirement package, the two business partners and friends agree to an off-the-book shipping job…”
Overall, being an Irish approach to comedy, Adventurados achieves more grins and awkward giggles than belly laughs. This is not to say it’s funny; it is. Many cute observations exist as the erstwhile crew shleps their cargo to Earth Station. However, the humor is that of a dark and down Irish sensibility. This is the sort of comedy you could expect to see in Waiting for Godot. It’s humorous without being gut-bustlingly funny.
Of course, the actors must bring their energies to the fore. In Masterson and Hanna, you have two veterans who are quite funny in their domestic market but may not translate so well across the world. The direction, writing, and visual effects are all spot on though. I love Pierce’s use of models. From what I could tell, this film had little to no CGI. I expect the whole thing to be practical. For that, the film wins itself back a few points.
I enjoyed the setup and scenario. The director brings the right amount of high stakes blended with sheer utter boredom. Seek out Adventurados if you like Irish films or want to experience a blue-collar comedy in space.
"…love Pierce's use of models."
