Reviews

As the movie opened on a scene that looked and played like an episode of that miserable series "Happy Days", I knew there was trouble brewing. And when the astronauts were all portrayed as boring suburban commuter dads with no apparent intelligence above the level of your average truck driver, I could tell accuracy was not a major concern of the filmmakers. As the movie's blandness numbed me into catatonia I turned off the TV and was grateful there is a movie called "The Right Stuff".

This is one of those movies which anyone interested in the twisted moral codes of the 1950's must study. Apart from the ludicrous acting and smarmy music, there's the notion that any form of dishonesty is preferable to admitting to an illigitimate child. The most facinating character is the mother, played by Dorothy McGuire. From a 50's perspective she is a warm, caring, nurturing mother, seemingly only concerned with her daughter's future happiness. But as time has melted away those strict moral codes, she can now be seen, rightfully, as cold, manipulative, obsessive, controlling, and incredibly weak when faced with adversity. In the beginning, on the ship returning to America, she's trying to pique her daughter's interest in the handsome stranger in the suite across the way. When Susan decides, in Connie Stevens' inimitable acting style (if you put lots of pauses in the middle of lines, it will approximate real speech) "I guess I'll..... just go.....do...a little.....deckwalking" She does and ends up pregnant. Mom is instantly against the boy and harps on it long, long into the film, eventually boiling over into supressed (everything was suppressed in the 50's) hatred, but she's not honest enough to say so directly.

Anyway I could go on and on, but let it suffice to say this has got to be seen to be believed, and then seen again, just to make sure you saw what you saw. Lloyd Nolan is hilarious as the bossed around dad, whose sole purpose is to come up with little homilies suitable for embroidery like: "Well I guess there's a lot to do getting ready to climb a mountain" and "I don't remember love hurting so much, did it?" and the classic "Well, isn't there a bigger word than 'thanks'?" Two scenes to watch for: When Dorothy McGuire tried to fool her friends into thinking it is she who is pregnant, two of the extras with her look around and grin as if they don't even speak English. Terrible direction. And the scene when McGuire and Nolan sneak into the sleeping Susie's room to surprise her with their birthday song is truly stomach churning and the best argument for patricide I've ever seen. This is one laugh classic that you never tire of.

This is not only one of the worst movies of the year, it's one of the worst movies ever made. It's like watching a train go off the track and being forced to sit there for 90 minutes and watch it crash. At the crowded screening I attended the movie was watched in stony silence, every joke crashing to the ground and dying. I love many of the Coen Brothers movies and to see one that goes so terribly wrong is a painful experience. Within 5 minutes George Clooney tried to deliver a line of dialogue and the movie died. If I had known the premise -- Everyone in the movie is a half-wit, except George Clooney, who dispenses pearls of wisdom, I would have known better than to even attend a film with so ridiculous a plot. In other words, if the film had broken at any point and they sent us home, I don't think anyone would have complained.

After the over edited, over-hyper opening sequence this movie settled down to some of the worst bad acting school exercises I've ever seen. Some very good actors were reduced to cliched dialog obviously written to sound improvisational. Every 1940's war movie ploy was on display and even surpassed by the hokey ending with the music poured on like syrup.

I was led to this film when it first opened by Pauline Kael's review which, although critical of the music and other things, was an unqualified rave for Peter O'Toole's performance, as well as highly complimentary to Petula Clark as well. Seeing this projected in 70MM with 6-track stereo sound was an extraordinary experience, so much so that I went back the following day to see it again, bought the soundtrack, and even returned to see it a third time a week later. It is still one of my favorite films and the letterboxed Laserdisk has kept it looking fresh. Seeing Peter O'Toole in this, just a year after he screamed his way (brilliantly) through "The Lion in Winter" I was convinced he was the greatest actor of the day. The shock was Petula Clark, who gives such a warm and fine performance here that there is no doubt that theirs is one of the most affecting love stories on film. This was Herbert Ross' first directing effort and, like Bob Fosse on "Sweet Charity" the same year, you can just feel their excitement at the possibilities of the medium. I was always sad at the critical slaughter this film received, Ms. Kael stood alone, and am so pleased to see all the positive comments this film now earns. Quickly, I love the cinematography, supporting performances, and production design and finally, the music. This was one of the first examples I can think of the stream-of-consciousness musical score, songs are sung partly as voiceovers and partly on screen, switching back and forth, songs will stop and start again after lines of dialog, and return later in the film with different arrangements and lyrics, etc., etc. And a special note to John Williams' wonderful arrangements. Try to see this in widescreen and stereo, forget your prejudices about it and sit back and let it sweep over you