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As the movie opened on a scene that looked and played like an episode of that miserable series "Happy Days", I knew there was trouble brewing. And when the astronauts were all portrayed as boring suburban commuter dads with no apparent intelligence above the level of your average truck driver, I could tell accuracy was not a major concern of the filmmakers. As the movie's blandness numbed me into catatonia I turned off the TV and was grateful there is a movie called "The Right Stuff".

This is one of those movies which anyone interested in the twisted moral codes of the 1950's must study. Apart from the ludicrous acting and smarmy music, there's the notion that any form of dishonesty is preferable to admitting to an illigitimate child. The most facinating character is the mother, played by Dorothy McGuire. From a 50's perspective she is a warm, caring, nurturing mother, seemingly only concerned with her daughter's future happiness. But as time has melted away those strict moral codes, she can now be seen, rightfully, as cold, manipulative, obsessive, controlling, and incredibly weak when faced with adversity. In the beginning, on the ship returning to America, she's trying to pique her daughter's interest in the handsome stranger in the suite across the way. When Susan decides, in Connie Stevens' inimitable acting style (if you put lots of pauses in the middle of lines, it will approximate real speech) "I guess I'll..... just go.....do...a little.....deckwalking" She does and ends up pregnant. Mom is instantly against the boy and harps on it long, long into the film, eventually boiling over into supressed (everything was suppressed in the 50's) hatred, but she's not honest enough to say so directly.

Anyway I could go on and on, but let it suffice to say this has got to be seen to be believed, and then seen again, just to make sure you saw what you saw. Lloyd Nolan is hilarious as the bossed around dad, whose sole purpose is to come up with little homilies suitable for embroidery like: "Well I guess there's a lot to do getting ready to climb a mountain" and "I don't remember love hurting so much, did it?" and the classic "Well, isn't there a bigger word than 'thanks'?" Two scenes to watch for: When Dorothy McGuire tried to fool her friends into thinking it is she who is pregnant, two of the extras with her look around and grin as if they don't even speak English. Terrible direction. And the scene when McGuire and Nolan sneak into the sleeping Susie's room to surprise her with their birthday song is truly stomach churning and the best argument for patricide I've ever seen. This is one laugh classic that you never tire of.

This is not only one of the worst movies of the year, it's one of the worst movies ever made. It's like watching a train go off the track and being forced to sit there for 90 minutes and watch it crash. At the crowded screening I attended the movie was watched in stony silence, every joke crashing to the ground and dying. I love many of the Coen Brothers movies and to see one that goes so terribly wrong is a painful experience. Within 5 minutes George Clooney tried to deliver a line of dialogue and the movie died. If I had known the premise -- Everyone in the movie is a half-wit, except George Clooney, who dispenses pearls of wisdom, I would have known better than to even attend a film with so ridiculous a plot. In other words, if the film had broken at any point and they sent us home, I don't think anyone would have complained.