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Writer/director Philip Kaufman chronicles the birth of the U.S. space program in The Right Stuff, beginning with the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard) at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Based on Tom Wolfe’s novel, the film then introduces several other daring, young pilots who want to follow in Yeager’s footsteps. When Russia successfully launches a rocket into space, the U.S. government recruits Gus Grissom (Fred Ward) and Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) from Edwards to be part of the first group of U.S. astronauts — the Mercury 7. John Glenn (Ed Harris) and Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn) also join the team, undergoing rigorous physical and psychological tests to become the first Americans to ever leave Earth’s atmosphere.
The Right Stuff contains a lot of history in its over-three-hour runtime, but it does so in a surprisingly entertaining manner that never gets dull, with help from a terrific ensemble of actors who bring color to their real-life characters. Ed Harris is memorable as John Glenn, the squeaky clean boy scout of the bunch. At the other end of the spectrum is Dennis Quad as the cocky Cooper. Shepard gives a measured, controlled performance as Yeager (reminding me of Gary Cooper at times), while Scott Glenn gets some of the film’s funnier moments and Fred Ward gets some of the angriest ones. The camaraderie among these men becomes the heart of the film, which simultaneously celebrates the daredevil spirit of all the pilots before and after them, those who put their lives on the line to push the boundaries of human achievement.
While it’s naturally a patriotic film, Kaufman tempers it with plenty of warranted criticism for both the government and the press. Both institutions sometimes like to run roughshod over their human subjects — even if those subjects happen to be national heroes. Donald Moffat gives a humorous performance as vice-president Lyndon Johnson, who seeks headlines at the expense of the astronauts and their loved ones. We learn a lot about the astronauts through a number of thoughtful scenes with their wives, captured in solid supporting turns by Barbara Hershey, Veronica Cartwright, Pamela Reed, and Mary Jo Deschanel.
While there are close-calls throughout the storyline and the specter of disaster looms large at all times, The Right Stuff stops short of any major tragedies. The story, in both the novel and the film, ends in 1963 with Gordon Cooper’s record-setting 22 orbits around the world, well before Grissom’s death in a testing exercise in 1967 or the harrowing journey of Apollo 13 in 1970. While nothing in The Right Stuff carries the incredible dramatic weight of those later events, it’s nonetheless an informative and entertaining prelude to both NASA’s darkest and finest hours.
With Lance Henriksen, Scott Paulin, Charles Frank, Kim Stanley, and Kathy Baker.
Academy Awards: Best Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Film Editing, Score (Bill Conti)
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Sam Shepard), Cinematography (Caleb Deschanel), Art Direction