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OCTOBER SKY review
Ya know.... I’ve seen so many teenage comedies and teenage jock films that... to a degree
I’m a bit numb with them. And ya know... Here in the first month or two of the year I’ve
seen a lot of movies that just didn’t make me feel like writing, because... well I didn’t want
to spend any extra moments discussing them here... alone at my keyboard. I hate raging
and being frustrated. Throwing my hands in the air and feeling the tension in my scalp.
But I don’t have that right now. Instead I feel an absolute compulsion to discuss what I
strongly feel is Joe Johnston’s best film by far.
For me, Johnston’s films have always been two separate films a piece. An effects
sequence and a live action sequence. Taken separately one would always be superior to
the other, but seldomly in his films have the two merged convincingly. This has always
been a problem with effects films, and it’s something that has plagued many of the best
‘genre’ filmmakers because... Well so much more planning goes into the effects scenes.
But the key is to make it seem as spontaneous as the regular scenes. You are supposed to
make both scenes blend into one another. This is what is so amazing about George Pal’s
WAR OF THE WORLDS and TIME MACHINE as well as Harryhausen’s SEVENTH
VOYAGE OF SINBAD and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.... in those films... it all
fit.
Well, in OCTOBER SKY, we are dealing with what would appear to be a non-effects
film. And that’s the way it should be. This was a wonderful film. I’m gonna give you
folks a warning, I’m probably going to go out in left field here, so if you want off the ship,
just click away cause this film got to me.... and you know how I get when a film get’s to
me.
As I said in the first paragraph, I’m sick and tired of the high school jock movie and the
high school comedy movie, from time to time there’s a film in those genres which really
does separate itself from it’s fellow redundancies (such as the upcoming AMERICAN PIE
from Universal), but by and large... I get rundown on it. Why? Cause I wasn’t a jock in
High School. I was on the football team for a while, but because of how big I was, the
coach wouldn’t let me practice against my own teammates, and instead used me as a
hitting dummy to ‘toughen me up and make me mean’, but that wasn’t who I was and I
dropped out.
It was no big loss for me, group showering and trying to kill another teenager were never
my favorite pastimes, but living in a small town... being nearly six foot tall and 250
pounds.... well you were kinda expected to play football. My mother said that if I played,
she’d buy me a new car, my biology teacher said he’d cut me some slack if I’d play.... It
could have been an easier, more accommodating route... but my dreams were not of
gridiron. Instead I was in Band, I loved playing film soundtracks, hearing the sounds of
John Williams or Danny Elfman escape my trombone’s bell.... I joined the debate team,
the theater groups, the science team, math team, typing team, Spanish team.... everything I
could. I would give oral presentations of poetry and prose, I studied how to do movie
make up, and just about everyday me and my fellow group of weirdoes/geeks/corner
people traveled the 55 some odd miles to watch movies on the postage stamp sized movie
screens of Wichita Falls. And I was happy.
We were the strange group, but I seemed to always make people laugh... I was never very
shy, but the older folks in town never really seemed to understand what I was up to....
Especially my mom. I was supposed to want to ride horses, round up cattle, brand em,
build fence, shear sheep, drive a tractor, negotiate oil contracts... I was supposed to be a
rancher. Do “God’s Work” as she put it. But making terraces and studying fertilizer.... it
just wasn’t my life’s calling. Hell... I hadn’t a clue what was, but damn if I didn’t love
movies. I bought every magazine I could, read them all. I’d buy Chicago Newspapers to
read what Gene and Roger thought, I’d buy every STARLOG, CINEFEX,
CINEMAFANTASTIQUE, US, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, PEOPLE, VARIETY,
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, etc that I could get my hands on.
My mom never lived to see what came of all of that, but I have to say... everytime I get a
letter from an old high school acquaintance, teacher, etc... I smile. I was voted
BIGGEST BOOKWORM in High School, I was also voted most likely to succeed.
People have always seemed to sense that I was not someone to settle for a regular job, I
guess I give off that vibe a lot.
OCTOBER SKY is a similar story. It’s filled with the typical clichés about a father figure
wanting the kid to be one thing, when in reality he’s a completely different animal. It’s
about geeks with non-traditional dreams that dared to attempt to realize them. This isn’t
about Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawkings... This is a movie about that kid in high school
that always stared out the window dreaming of getting out of the town he was in,
dreaming of something grand for their life. And their ‘grand’ was really quite a small thing
in the way of the world, but to him, and to the town he lived in.... It was something huge
and unimaginable.
I loved this film. Sure it’s got more than its fill of clichés... but ya know.... real life
success stories are filled with those. Folks, everytime I do an interview and I get asked
the question about when I started this site, and I have to go into the story of being hit by a
runaway dolly loaded with about 1200 pounds of movie memorabilia, laying in my bed
unable to go take a shit and ignoring it all to type about movies.... Well, I wince cause it
feels so damn cliché-y. But that’s the way it happened. Sometimes the last second
desperation pass is caught. Sometimes after a fight you do kiss up and make up in a
whiny blubbery mess. The reason they are clichés is because reality is filled with them.
And thank God, because if everything in life were unique, I don’t think we would have a
frame of reference to understand the things we live and experience.
This isn’t a big film. But it has some wonderful themes. It’s strange... at one point in the
film I began thinking about GODS AND MONSTERS. In one of Ian McKellen’s stories
he looks away distance and says something along the lines of “it wasn’t their fault, it was
as if a family of farmers were given a giraffe... and not knowing what to do with the beast
they bridled him up with the plows.” Now I just butchered that line, but it was the general
gist of it. You see... the character of Homer’s father, played by Chris Cooper just doesn’t
understand his son. When he looks at him he sees a scrawny weak little boy that doesn’t
appreciate anything that he (the father) has given him. The father sees his interest in
something strange and new as being a knife in his back, as a betrayal of everything he
understands. But it goes further than that, this is a town where everyone expects you to
work in the coal mines. Schooling is just a delay of the inevitable. It’s a 12 year furlough
from breathing the black dust that will one day kill you. But hey.... It’s honest necessary
work to build a stronger nation... under god, for liberty and justice for all.
Sputnik was a wake up call for dreamers to look overhead and think about.... Space.
Where was George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron when that speck of light
darted across the sky? It’s really amazing what a milestone can do. That speck in the
evening sky gave birth to a scientific dream that so far has accumulated with you reading
this from my bedroom. Because without the space race and the cold war and the dreams
of thousands upon thousands of those geeks ya might have looked down upon in school...
well... these personal computers, the satellites in space, then entire DVD and VCR thing,
the 300 cable stations, your cellular phones, the map you printed from Yahoo, the ticker
you check your stock quotes with.... All of this might have been delayed for who knows
how long. And for me.... watching that little speck of light race across that sky... It was a
symbol of what started all of this.
Well, shucks... I guess I might ought to talk about the actors in this film a bit. Like I’ve
said, this isn’t a terribly big film. It’s not a huge film about gigantic accomplishments, but
it is about dreams, hard work and accomplishments. And to realize that, Johnston has
assembled two kids in his group of four that I think are something special.
The lead character of Homer, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Jake is right on in this film. Go
ahead and mark him on the list of kids like Tobey Maguire and Elijah Wood that can act
and that are good. One of my favorite things in this film are the tiny details like Homer’s
rotten canine on the upper left side of his mouth. I love how the dirt and grime sticks to
these kids. And that’s something I really wasn’t expecting from a Joe Johnston movie
because usually his films are so clean and free of dirt and grime. For me, it was the
singular flaw in ROCKETEER... Their world was too clean and too new. But that wasn’t
the case in this film. Instead.... In this film we had a real world. And Jake was the
perfect kid to play this character. He had the right gleam in his eyes, and when that gleam
leaves for a bit.... you feel a soul being lost. I loved it.
Then there is the character of Quentin. I really really feel that Chris Owen may very well
be something very very special. He is very very good. I would love to see him be cast
completely against type for a film. In this he plays the atypical geek, but in the later
AMERICAN PIE he plays a geek stud. Personally I’d like to see him in a major role
because I feel he has the charisma to carry a film. He has a wonderful character filled face,
and for me, he stole every scene he was in. When he began to get excited.... You could
just feel the vibe of energy flow from him. It was wonderful.
This was the film that I think Joe Johnston grew up as a director. It’s a film about
characters and a simple story. I always believe you should start off telling simple stories
and move on to the more difficult ones. If you try to climb K2 your first time out... you’ll
die.... But if you start by climbing that hill in your backyard and moving to bigger and
better things.... Well it’s a natural progression.
This probably won’t be a terribly successful film, though I hope I’m wrong. Everyone in
my group really loved it and were surprised by their reaction. This is one of those films
that can surprise you. I’m taking more people to see it this Sunday, it’s a good film that
they ought to see.
Well... I’ll letcha go, I have to wrap this up.... I’ll try to write up my PAYBACK review
today that compares the final print to the earlier print. Later...
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The academy seems to have a field day with films that make ample use of cliches, so maybe that means that OS will strike a nerve with the voters. I'm pretty sure that once Dec.99 rolls around and THE GREEN MILE and THE CRADLE WILL ROCK are creating oscar buzz OS will be a distant memory. I saw about half of the film when I projected a sneak preview of it at the theater I work at, and I was very impressed with what I saw, so much so that I feel obligated to view the picture in all its glory when it opens next week.
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Thank you for the review, Harry. I haven't heard a good thing about this film and will very likely never see it. However, as I like movies, I love it when any one pic can connect to at least one person. I feel that way about Peter Weir's "Fearless," a movie nobody or their cat ever, ever says they enjoyed. But, I live it, love it, and have the poster framed on my wall next to "Shot in the Dark," "Husbands and Wives," and "Deep Rising" (another film no one likes, but I had a helluva lot of fun seeing in a dollar theater with a bunch of drunks). So, despite what anyone might say in ye ol' "October Sky" talkback, I'm glad you liked the movie. See you at SXSW. Wouldn't miss "Harry Knowles Talks to Himself" for anything.
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Thanks for another great review. I normally dont like posting here. Mainly because of all the ingrate simians that do, but anyhow I would like to comment on the point you made about not writing about the shit piles that you've seen in the past month. keep em coming Harry, good or bad - i want to read em all. That is what makes this site so great. The good and the bad. Oh and come on over to the forums some time, your presence and unbridled opinions are much longed for.
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Harry seems to have some serious issues about high school. I wasn't exactly happy in my high school years but damn.....that was 13 years ago. I don't even think about it anymore. Harrry just review the flick.....please.
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Harry, I'm right there with ya brotha! I saw October Sky a couple of days ago, and I think it's one of the best films I've seen in the last year. Yeah, I know, that's high praise, and someone out there won't agree with me, but they can just shove it. This is my opinion, and if you don't like it, stop reading. Homer and his group reminded me so much of me and my old high school friends. We'll never grow up to be rocket scientists, except maybe one of us, but I still felt that connection with the whole group. Misunderstood, unloved, unappreciated, but they still never give up even when their dream is snatched away. I left the theatre speechless. Universal's got a great film here, and in my opinion, it should be in the Oscar running next year. By far the best film I've seen in the last year. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Thanks for your review. Its honesty is one of the reasons this site is so unique. I have seen October Sky twice and will go back now to see it through your eyes. Your recent review of "A Simple Plan" was similarly honest, and in a way, connects with this review. We all felt like "outsiders" somehow in high school. This movie champions the outsider and reveals, like your "cliche" success has, that the outsiders are the ones who have the vision to take us to new places we have never dreamed possible.
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Red, I am wodering how much emotion goes into your movie reviews. Before you slam me for not knowing that a big part of movie enjoyment is risking your emotions to be rewarded with the relationship one has with a movie, I remind you that the worst critics are the ones who let feelings get in the way of critical judgements. Your thoughts? By the way, I thought O Sky was a fine movie.
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Harry, it's reviews like this one that make me glad I hit your site first and last. I love ther personal touch you add to your reviews. And I can totally relate. When I was in High School and to a certain degree college I alwasy felt as though I people wanted me to play in right field yet I was always in left field(usually where there wasn't a field) Your review struck a cord in me that I haven't felt in awhile and Wow thanks...When ever I pass a high school I think about the debate geeks and the movie nerds and the theatre wackos and think "good luck, break a leg keep up the good work" becasue I know a lot of them aren't getting the support from home and chool they deserve. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged my reading and acting habits. Who went to shows and bought me books and drove me to shows, even though I didn't follow in my dad's basketball/baseball footsteps. I just wish all could have a support group like that, parents who support and teachers who encourage, unfourtantly schools and goverments feel that they need to cut arts programs to make way for more football teams or whatnot. It's a sad, sick sick world out there. Thank god for the souls out there who don't let that get them down and keep pressing on
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I just got back from seeing October Sky. I really enjoyed this movie and I would recommend it to anyone who has looked up in the sky and dreamed of greater things. I could really relate to the father/son relationship. Even at 26, I am still trying to make my father proud. I haven't seen the actor that plays Homer before. He did an excellent job. The only complaint I have is that the story line involving the teacher was a little weak. I wasn't convinced that she was the one that encouraged Homer to reach for the stars. Homer's desire to get out of the dead-end coal town and to win his father's respect are what drove him to develop the rockets. I highly recommend this movie!
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This was indeed, an outstanding movie. I'd like to comment on the role and characterization of Homer's father. He was the best father ever filmed, better than Atticus Finch! He didn't understand his dreaming son; the football playing son was clearer. He didn't understand looking beyond one's own family, town, and work. But this focus on providing a solid base was the key to Homer's freedom to dream. His apparent opposition to Homer's pursuit of rocketing, college, etc., was only there in the shallowest reflection. He was kind to him, ABSOLUTELY wanted the best for him, and LISTENED TO HIM, responding as fairly as he could. He also was ACTIVE, saying what he thought as a loving parent must. It was clear that he was Homer's hero and that Homer was living out the substance that his father had given to him.
It is a rare film that portrays a father's activity in this way without overdoing it and destroying the subtle influence of the father. The fact that this was not John's "plan" made it all that more impressive that he could play it out so well. -
I loved this movie. I went to see it entirely on the strength of Joe Johnston's previous movies, all of which I found entertaining. Besides being great effects movies, "The Rocketeer", "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids" and "Jumanji" all had a lot of heart. "Jumanji" has one of the happiest endings ever.
But with "October Sky", Johnston advances to the next level. Yes, there are a few cliches. Some of the story is a little far fetched. But ther perfomances are wonderful. The best performance was by the actor playing Homer's father (I don't recall his name). Far from being a typical disapproving dad, he gives many layers to his performance. We can see that he is a genuinely good human being. All of the characters
are many-sided. Even the school principal turns out to be an okay guy. I am unashamed to say that this movie had me in tears. This is the wrong time to come out for Oscar consideration for next year but I hope it garners a few nominations.
Sam Tomaino
stomaino@hotmail.com -
This movie is worth seeing.
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This movie was touching and awesome, when I heard WING COMMANDER blew chunks (the first words for my friend were 'the game is better') I went to see this flick last night 3/12/99 mor than 2 weeks after its opening...Its a fantastic movie!! My only minor complain was that the title "October Sky" has LESS to do with anything related to the movie than "ROCKET BOYS" for which I will forever remeber this movie. if they wanted to play up the title they should have made the town look like it was getting ready for halloween by decorating the houses with jack-o-lanterns or ghosts or what-not. That is a very nominal complain though, this movie rocked ASS!!! :O) Mck
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I just saw this movie tonight, finally, and I'm sorry I waited. I wish more people would go see it. It deserves a big audience. It has a ton of heart, and everything from plot to acting to effects was put together so seamlessly it just flowed like water. It was perfect. I couldn't find anything to nitpick about it. And besides that it had both my spouse and me in tears for about the last two-thirds. It was like that moment in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker goes and stares at the twin sunset and kicks a little dust and seems to be wondering if he'll ever get off that boring dirtball he's stuck on -- we've all felt that way, haven't we? And this movie takes that feeling and fulfills it in the most satisfying way possible. The best part was that it was based on a true story, and you get to see footage of the real people at the end, and find out what they ended up doing. I can't say enough good about this flick.
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I loved it too; I was surprised nobody mentioned that it's based on the grown-up Homer's own book. The actual home movies at the end, of the real-life characters, got me.
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Yes, the movie is based on the book "Rocket Boys," which is just as great as the movie, and an easy read. I highly recommend it. Also, I just found out that "October Sky" is an anagram of "Rocket Boys." --- DUH! (I'm sure some brilliant marketing guy didn't think the original title would sell the movie to a broad audience.)
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I just saw this the other night, and I find myself fully in agreement with Harry: an outstanding film, one of the best so far this year. Fine acting, well paced, solid writing, but more importantly this movie made an emotional connection for me. It doesn't fall into the category of "action flick," "action comedy" or "romantic comedy" or even "Teen hormone-fest," however, which makes it unlikely that many will see this rare treat. And your review here, Harry, is an example of why so many of us come to AICN. Movies succeed when they make connections with the viewer, and no, I don't think you had to be a geek in high school to enjoy this film or identify with Homer and the Rocket Boys. But we _can_ all identify with the struggles that Homer was going through, and Johnston did an outstanding job of bringing this out. If you're looking for a light cheap thrill, you won't get it here. If you want movie that will stay with you for years, go watch OCTOBER SKY.
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I know October Sky has come and gone and my comments are probably moot, but let me tell you -- this movie is a real gem. It's a difficult thing to make a mainstream movie and sneak in all kinds of elements that give it a more independent feel and nature. This movie succeeeded on all fronts -- most especially in its cinematic prowess. It's gorgeous and sometimes haunting to look at. Worth every penny!
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