The Right Stuff
4/4
Starring: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Pamela Reed, Veronica Cartwright, Barbara Hershey, Donald Moffat, Mary Jo Deschanel
Rated PG (for Language and Momentary Nudity...I Guess)
Just because a movie is educational doesn't mean that it's not entertaining. In general, audiences don't go to the movies to be educated...they have enough of that in school. They want to be entertained. And that's what happens with "The Right Stuff," a movie that has a straightforward and compelling primary narrative, with plenty of thematic content for seasoning.
The film, in general, details the U.S. Space Race. It opens with a test pilot trying, and failing, to cross the sound barrier. The casualties for this quest are astronomical, until a former fighter pilot named Chuck Yeager (Shepard) volunteers to go.
After about a half hour, the film shifts gears to tell the story of the Mercury Space program. After Soviet Russia sends Sputnik into space, the U.S. Government is desperate to put a man in orbit. They select seven astronauts for the program: Alan Shepard (Glenn), John Glenn (Harris), Gordon Cooper (Quaid), Gus Grissom (Ward), Deke Slayton (Scott Paulin), Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank) and Wally Schirra (Lance Henrikson).
The film has an astonishing cast, most of whom were relatively new faces. Because it would take far too long to gush over their performances (much as they all deserve it), I'll briefly talk about the few that stuck in my mind. First up is Sam Shepard, the character actor and playwright that became famous for roles in "The Notebook" and "Black Hawk Down." Shepard plays Yeager as a calm man who is driven to push the limits. He's not an adrenaline junkie, but instead is more obsessed than anything. Ed Harris is wonderful as they Marine pilot who's such a goody-two shoes that you almost want to strangle him (the film acknowledges this, often to amusing effect). And Dennis Quaid is a true scene-stealer as Gordo, with his triangle smile and penchant for jokes. Also worth mentioning are Pamela Reed, who plays Gordo's strong wife Trudy, and Mary Jo Deschanel, who plays John's timid wife Annie. They're both excellent.
What makes this film so special is that Philip Kaufman takes his time. Adapting from the book by Tom Wolfe, Kaufman risks overstuffing the film. There's a lot going on here, including a strong narrative and complex characters. But Kaufman provides lots of little subplots and scenes that illustrate how the characters are feeling (the scene where Shepard meets a fan at the end is a case in point). The fickleness of fame, the line between duty and sanity, the impact and stress that the wives endure, and how brotherhood (and sisterhood) can carry people through anything.
The audience will feel just about every emotion in this film. Considering the subject matter, a fair amount of suspense is to be expected. There's also heartbreak, fear (the images of "the demon at Mach 1"), thoughtfulness, romance, pathos, and so forth. Also noteworthy is the amount of humor. There are times when this movie is laugh-aloud-funny. Gordo always has a wisecrack and there's some character based humor. Some scenes (the bathroom scene and Shepard's pre-flight trouble) are just hysterical.
Kaufman stirs all this together with the skill of a master. There are a few moments where the film drags a little, and the scene where the astronauts realize that they have to band together is written in a way that makes it contrived, but these are isolated moments. For the vast majority of the film, this is an enriching and thrilling piece of cinema.
Starring: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Pamela Reed, Veronica Cartwright, Barbara Hershey, Donald Moffat, Mary Jo Deschanel
Rated PG (for Language and Momentary Nudity...I Guess)
Just because a movie is educational doesn't mean that it's not entertaining. In general, audiences don't go to the movies to be educated...they have enough of that in school. They want to be entertained. And that's what happens with "The Right Stuff," a movie that has a straightforward and compelling primary narrative, with plenty of thematic content for seasoning.
The film, in general, details the U.S. Space Race. It opens with a test pilot trying, and failing, to cross the sound barrier. The casualties for this quest are astronomical, until a former fighter pilot named Chuck Yeager (Shepard) volunteers to go.
After about a half hour, the film shifts gears to tell the story of the Mercury Space program. After Soviet Russia sends Sputnik into space, the U.S. Government is desperate to put a man in orbit. They select seven astronauts for the program: Alan Shepard (Glenn), John Glenn (Harris), Gordon Cooper (Quaid), Gus Grissom (Ward), Deke Slayton (Scott Paulin), Scott Carpenter (Charles Frank) and Wally Schirra (Lance Henrikson).
The film has an astonishing cast, most of whom were relatively new faces. Because it would take far too long to gush over their performances (much as they all deserve it), I'll briefly talk about the few that stuck in my mind. First up is Sam Shepard, the character actor and playwright that became famous for roles in "The Notebook" and "Black Hawk Down." Shepard plays Yeager as a calm man who is driven to push the limits. He's not an adrenaline junkie, but instead is more obsessed than anything. Ed Harris is wonderful as they Marine pilot who's such a goody-two shoes that you almost want to strangle him (the film acknowledges this, often to amusing effect). And Dennis Quaid is a true scene-stealer as Gordo, with his triangle smile and penchant for jokes. Also worth mentioning are Pamela Reed, who plays Gordo's strong wife Trudy, and Mary Jo Deschanel, who plays John's timid wife Annie. They're both excellent.
What makes this film so special is that Philip Kaufman takes his time. Adapting from the book by Tom Wolfe, Kaufman risks overstuffing the film. There's a lot going on here, including a strong narrative and complex characters. But Kaufman provides lots of little subplots and scenes that illustrate how the characters are feeling (the scene where Shepard meets a fan at the end is a case in point). The fickleness of fame, the line between duty and sanity, the impact and stress that the wives endure, and how brotherhood (and sisterhood) can carry people through anything.
The audience will feel just about every emotion in this film. Considering the subject matter, a fair amount of suspense is to be expected. There's also heartbreak, fear (the images of "the demon at Mach 1"), thoughtfulness, romance, pathos, and so forth. Also noteworthy is the amount of humor. There are times when this movie is laugh-aloud-funny. Gordo always has a wisecrack and there's some character based humor. Some scenes (the bathroom scene and Shepard's pre-flight trouble) are just hysterical.
Kaufman stirs all this together with the skill of a master. There are a few moments where the film drags a little, and the scene where the astronauts realize that they have to band together is written in a way that makes it contrived, but these are isolated moments. For the vast majority of the film, this is an enriching and thrilling piece of cinema.
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