The Right Stuff

The Right Stuff

Sometimes a classic needs some time before it truly connects with the audience.  Take It's a Wonderful Life, for example.  We know it as one of the greatest Christmas films ever (actually the second best Christmas film ever, according to my review!).  But when the film came out, audiences did not want to see it, despite the presence of Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart.  It was not until decades later, when the film began to make rounds on television, that it became the beloved classic it is now.  In 1983, The Right Stuff was released to glowing reviews, but sort of fizzled at the box office. While critics still adore the film - and even rate it consistently among the best of the decade - it has yet to find that wide audience.  If you are film buff, or a NASA or Air Force fan, you most likely have seen it.  But I am surprised how many people haven't...and how many have not even heard of it. So I hope this review is me doing my part in changing that injustice.  The Right Stuff really is that good and should be seen by everyone.

Based on the classic novel by Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff is the story of the beginnings of America's space program, beginning with Chuck Yaeger's breaking of the sound barrier, then following the recruitment and eventual missions of the original seven Mercury astronauts.  The storytelling in the film is a bit odd, to be honest, without a main character or straightforward narrative arc, or even a true climax.  Instead the film just kind of bounces around, juxtaposing Yaeger's story with that of the Mercury astronauts (while also keeping tabs on the Russians' space program). This lack of a traditional narrative, which you would think would be a flaw, is actually a true strength here, adding to the film's authenticity.  It's a remarkable bit of screenwriting and directing.

It also helps when you have this cast - Sam Shepard, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Quaid, Ed Harris, Donald Moffat, Fred Ward, Kim Stanley, Harry Shearer, Jeff Goldblum, Lance Henrickson, Scott Glenn, Veronica Cartwright - this is one helluva cast and they are all perfect in their roles.  I would give special props to Ed Harris, who plays the patriotic boy scout of the bunch (and future Senator) John Glenn, Scott Glenn as the first American in space Alan Shepard, and especially Sam Shepard as the stoic daredevil Yaeger.

The main reason I personally like The Right Stuff is that it is a three-hour long class in filmmaking. Directed by Philip Kaufman (Henry and June), this movie teaches me something new every time I see it. The first time you watch The Right Stuff, you should just sit back and enjoy it.  But the second time, you should try to distance yourself from the movie and watch how it is made.  It's remarkable.  Observe how the shots are constructed and how that subtly reinforces character and story points (especially true in the scenes with the astronauts and their wives).   Look at the how the various narrative arcs are strung together, seemingly disjointed but still completely dependent on each other. Look at the acting, the set direction, the costumes...I could go on.

There are a few things I don't like about The Right Stuff, admittedly.  In places, Bill Conti's Oscar-winning score is magnificent, but in other spots it sounds like the worst of 1980s synth.  It's just not my cup of tea.  I also find Jeff Goldblum and Harry Shearer's characters to be a bit too cartoonish. Playing goofy NASA recruiters, they truly are funny, but their slapstick routine seems out of place at times and more appropriate for a Three Stooges film (which I suppose is the point, in some ways).

SPOILERS HERE: I do have mixed feelings about the NASA accident involving Gus Grissom (Fred Ward).  The scene is incredibly well done, but I feel it implies that Grissom panicked and was responsible for the accident, but in real life, he had been cleared of any wrong doing long before the book and film were released.  So while that sequence in of itself is excellent, I feel weird about it.  Also, I really do not like the very, very ending at all.  There is a bit of folksy narration just before the end credits, as Gordo Cooper is launching into space for his mission.  The narration tells us the fate of one of the other characters, and ONLY one of them - which is already a bit lame - and explains that he died a horrible, horrible death, and then switches gears and tries to end on a funny note:"but that day Gordo Cooper became the greatest pilot anyone had seen."  First of all, why only tell us the fate of only one of the characters?  And then why depress us, and then throw a cheeky curveball about Cooper that is supposed to make us laugh.  As many times as I've seen the movie, it still doesn't sit well with me.  SPOILERS END.

But these are all minor points, in no way impacting the coolness of this movie as a whole.  The Right Stuff is a brilliant movie, and worthy of its accolades, but still searching for the wide audience that will keep it in the public consciousness generation after generation - an achievement it absolutely deserves.

BEST LINE:
This is my personal favorite line in what is also my favorite scene of the movie.

John Glenn: Annie, listen to me.  If you don't want the Vice President or the TV networks or anybody else to come into the house, then that's it, as far as I'm concerned.  They are not coming in, and I will back you all the way, 100 percent on this.  And you tell them that, ok?  I don't want Johnson or any of the rest of them to set as much as one toe inside our house.  You tell them astronaut John Glenn told you to say that.

MVP:
Apparently Tom Wolfe was displeased with the movie because it made Yaeger more of a hero than the other astronauts.  I disagree with that. Yes, the movie implies that Yaeger has "the right stuff" because he is the one who continues to push the barriers without the benefit of NASA scientists.  But as Yaeger himself points out in the movie, the astronauts are the ones who are brave enough to ignore their natural piloting instincts and strap themselves at the head of a rocket that very likely could explode and kill them.  They are at the mercy of scientists who aren't sure if any of this was going to work.  So what is "the Right Stuff" anyway?  What does that mean exactly and who has it?  It's an intriguing question and one that is much debated about the movie.

But someone who definitely has the Right Stuff is Sam Shepard, playing Chuck Yaeger.  He is such an unassuming character - quiet, humble, completely unflappable, and incredibly badass.  He doesn't need to act tough or talk trash about breaking flying records.  If you break his record, he'll just shrug a little and then go break the record again.  Shepard's presence is felt throughout the entire film. Sure, the narrative is slanted to favor Yaeger, but at the same time, without the complete confidence of Shepard's performance, I doubt it would have been anywhere near as effective.  Shepard earned an Oscar nomination for the role, and I think he should have won.  He wins my MVP, though.

TRIVIA:
The original composer hired for the film was John Barry (Oscar-winner for Dances with Wolves), but he left the project due to creative differences with director Philip Kaufman.  More accurately, he wasn't quite sure what Kaufman wanted.  According to Barry, when asked to describe his perfect score, Kaufman said he wanted music that sounded like "you're walking in the desert and you see a cactus, and you put your foot on it, but it just starts growing up through your foot."  Huh?  This also might explain why the music in the film is so hit-or-miss.