October Sky

Director: Joe Johnston
Cast:
Jake Gyllenhaal
Chris Cooper
William Lee Scott
Chad Lindberg
Laura Dern
Genre: Drama

Not a masterpiece, but perhaps satisfying to the blue collar residue left in all of you is "October Sky," the new movie from the producers of "Field of Dreams." The true story of a group of boys who try to build a small rocket that could rescue them from their mining town misery, "Sky" pulls a few schmaltz muscles but somehow makes a graceful landing.

Newcomer Jake Gyllenhaal plays Homer Hickham, a boy chained to a life of coal like his father before him, until he sees the shimmering glow of the Sputnik satellite spinning across the night sky. Spurred by muses he's never felt before, Homer dorks out and spends every last moment trying to learn as much about rocket science as one can in 1957 Appalachia. Fortunately, there's Quentin, a total spaz in his grade WAY more dorkier than Homer, a misfit who knows about combustible gases and trajectories.

Homer's two stud friends, a pair of boys destined for black lung disease themselves, start out hating the idea, but by the time the first rocket has launched, all four boys are a synergy of geekdom, creating a launch pad and possibly even entering a science fair that will be their ticket out of town. Of course, it's amazingly satisfying. Any time a harebrained project works, you can bet I'll be cheering, and director Joe Johnston's cadre of unknown boy actors is a brave move that pays great dividends. There is the usual "dysfunctional relationship with my dad" stuff that is to be expected from the "Field of Dreams" team, but overall, you can chalk up another win to the Science Olympiad and tell the football captains and cheerleaders to get lost. With Laura Dern and Chris Cooper.

—Ian Williams

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