Buck Rogers, the Historical Saga

I probably enjoyed "The Right Stuff" more than I normally would because it's about space travel. Otherwise, this kind of storytelling tends to irk me. Not merely based on a novel, it's also novelistic in its epic meandering with frequent subplot detours and lengthy sejourns into humorous episodes. It not only romanticizes space and pilots but also a particular ideal of masculinity while mocking those lacking "the right stuff." Somewhat ironically, for a picture that idolizes the test pilots and astronauts, one group depicted as buffoons is the press, who eat up every bit of self-promotion offered by the Mercury Seven as part of their own valorizing of them. While on the polar feminine side, the same-year's and the picture to beat out "The Right Stuff" for the top Oscar, "Terms of Endearment" (1983) has a similar overwrought form. Although it, too, has an astronaut, the main focus is on the kind of housewives who receive much less attention in this one. "The Right Stuff," however, for all its flaws, is certainly not a pedestrian epic. These are cosmic voyagers.

I'm less bothered by how this treatment reflects upon the historical accuracy (besides, overall, this seems to be a more faithful film than most), but there are a couple especially egregious sequences that mischaracterize known facts for no good reason: namely, the suggestion of Gus Grissom's mission mishap as a result of his supposed panicking and the so-called "fireflies" seen in space by John Glenn, which is ridiculously conflated here with the fire lit back on Earth by a stereotypical Aborigine group of magical noble savage tropes. The depiction of NASA scientists and engineers as a bunch of bumbling Germans who were apparently a wee bit too smart to be cast in "Hogan's Heroes" seems unnecessary, too. I don't care if they depict LBJ as a boorish simpleton, but it seems out of place in a historical film about NASA and space travel to give a similar treatment to the likes of Wernher von Braun. And, in the end, after covering so much ground and multiple characters, the conclusion rather fizzles out in a series of hokey looks by the Mercury Seven between each other and towards the sky as they admire a dance involving feathers (feathers equals flight--get it?).

From the perspective of the main plot, the biggest problem here would seem to be the inclusion of Chuck Yeager, but without him "The Right Stuff" would be vastly inferior thematically. As portrayed in the standout performance of the picture by Oscar-nominated Sam Shepard, he's vital here to its ethos of the strong, silent type and adventurism. By beginning the film with the minister's frequent appearance as grim reaper to test pilots like Yeager, the danger that the Mercury Seven put themselves in has already been firmly established. Moreover, the exploits of Yeager also establish the importance and skill of these aeronauts in flying their ships, so that the astronauts do not come off as merely "spam in a can"--even before Glenn proves their import by guiding his malfunctioning spacecraft during re-entry. To top off this ode to test pilots reaching for the stars is some excellent production and technical values, cinematography featuring impressive shots through clouds and effects that further partially put the spectator in the point-of-view of the flyers, and a score that while perhaps a bit bombastic at times is nonetheless effective.