October Sky (1999)
Review by Thespia
Film:
DVD:

Written by Lewis Colick, based on the book Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Jr.
Directed by Joe Johnston
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, Laura Dern, William Lee Scott

Features:

• "Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys" featurette
  
• Running audio commentary with author Hickam
  
• Spotlight on Location
  
• Production notes
  
• Theatrical trailer
  

Released by: Universal.
Rating: PG
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Buy it if you love it already, otherwise maybe rent.

On an October night in 1957, Homer Hickam Jr. looked into the sky and saw the Sputnik satellite cross the stars for the first time. At that moment, he decided he was going to build a rocket, little knowing where the decision would take him. This film tells the story of his young adulthood in Coalwood, West Virginia and how he overcame multiple obstacles to not only build a rocket, but also subsequently his own future, managing to bring a few friends with him.

The movie features very talented actors (among them a very pre-Donnie Darko Gyllenhaal as Homer, Cooper as his father, and Dern as his supportive teacher), but the problem is that there wasn't quite enough for them to work with. The film is just...average. Nothing about it was particularly bad or strikingly wonderful...it just happens to be somewhat unique because it's based on a true story. However, remove the story of Hickam's life, and there's not much to separate it from so many other "coming of age"/"trying to rise above my set station in life"/"trying to crawl out from the shadow of my father" tales.

Actual events just are a bit more unpredictable than this, so I was a bit surprised when I didn't have a hard time guessing what would come next at almost every turn. It feels like converting this to a easy-to-swallow Hollywood formula--which it is, really, you can almost see the numbers underneath the water colors--has left what could have been an impressive story just at the level of pretty good.

The DVD has a decent selection of features on the surface, but after watching and listening to them all, it becomes obvious that Hickam (who is featured in each and is the only voice on the commentary) doesn't put much stock in variety. He says the same things over and over again (even with the same cadence of voice). I wondered if I was the only one who thought so until my roommate, who was working in the next room as I went through the DVD, asked why I was watching the same thing again and wouldn't believe me when I said it was a totally different feature.

The featurette "Aiming High: The Story of the Rocket Boys" had good intentions because we got to hear from the real boys. However, once you get into it, it's more funny than anything else because to me Hickam was the only one having a good time. The rest of the men acted like they didn't want to be interviewed and just needed to get away. And you just have to feel sorry for the guy who doesn't even appear in the movie--he was just fused with one of the other boys for the purposes of Hollywood.

The production notes and "Spotlight on Location" were fairly interesting, but neither had anything that wasn't repeated in other features. It's nice to hear about how they built the set, little details like how the miners in the movie were real retired coal miners, and how close to reality the movie really is...but it really seemed that if you'd seen or heard one feature, you'd truly experienced them all.

If you saw the film in the theatre and loved it, sure, go buy the DVD. If you haven't seen it and you're looking for a pick-me-up movie or you want to make your kid glad he/she has the chance to go to college, then go rent it...but the features aren't strong enough for a purchase. When you get it, just don't expect to walk away saying, "I've never seen anything like it!" Because we all have.