'October Sky' lays on schmaltz

Present a small-town boy who suddenly realizes the inevitable reality of his future life as a coal miner and starts studying the principles of rocketry after school, and one can enrapture audiences. The truth is, people want to be inspired; they want to see that rural, uneducated boy become a scientific genius. Sometimes these types of movies are true winners (take "Good Will Hunting"), but though we hate to admit it, a logical plot and commendable acting are part of the deal.

"October Sky" doesn't meet these requirements.

Director Joe Johnston, who achieved notoriety for his special effects triumphs in past movies, from "Return of the Jedi" to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," is so close to getting the right formula down, but botches up the film with contrived one-liners, questionable sequences and mediocre acting.

The year is 1957, and the Soviet satellite Sputnik enters orbit, offering a sense of escapism for the hard-working folks of Coalwood, West Virginia. But to high schooler Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal), a rocket in space is more than just a far-away wonder, it encourages and enables him to build a rocket of his own. Good thing he's got the (could we be any more cliché?) open-minded, unorthodox schoolteacher Miss Riley (Laura Dern) to support him, believe in him and pressure him to pursue his dreams.

So Homer grabs a few of his buddies and a school nerd (consequently ostracizing himself from his once-respectable social life), and they go to great lengths to find all the materials they need to build a model rocket. They find scraps of metal, steal railroad tracks and covertly experiment with substances during their chemistry labs.

Problem: Homer's dad (Chris Cooper) runs the coal mine down the road from their house, and the mine is everything he lives for. Mr. Hickam wants Homer to become a coal miner like himself, and in general, to be the man he is. Homer has other plans, however. He wants to successfully build a rocket so that he can win the state science fair, enter into national competition and get a college scholarship.

With some fun '50s tunes and a few quirky little mishaps that the boys experience while trying to launch their rocket, "October Sky" has half a chance. Unfortunately, there are some random segments in the film that only serve to obfuscate the message. Mrs. Hickam is a questionable character, as in one scene she almost neurotically paints a mural on a wall in their kitchen right in the middle of a fight between her husband and son. Her passivity is counteracted when she eventually stands up for herself, but her motives for this are unsupported.

Her husband also shows inconsistencies. He is supposed to be the hero of the coal mining industry, but there isn't enough interaction between him and his staff to see how the miners look up to him.

Also, one of the main characters falls ill for no apparent reason other than to prove Johnston's attempt at banality by making this character a martyr out of her goodness.

As easy as it is to be consumed by Jake Gyllenhaal's piercing blue eyes, they don't have enough spark to hide his lack of talent in "October Sky." Laura Dern's enormous grin looks ridiculous after a while, and characters with minor roles spew out one-liners that are so blatantly over-acted that they're comical.

Some finer aspects of the movie should not be overlooked, however. An innovative shot presents Homer's conflict between going for his dreams (rocket science) and honoring his father (working in the coal mine). Homer, trapped in an elevator which surges beneath the earth and into the coal mines, stares through the slats of its ceiling towards the stars, where his "heart" belongs. You get the idea. Still, this scene, and many others come down to two simple words: Schmaltz City.

02-19-99