October Sky

Drama may even turn Gyllenhaal into a teen idol

Even if "October Sky" was a complete dud, the drama would still get points for being the movie that launched the career of a new star, Jake Gyllenhaal.

The teen actor has been in other films (including "City Slickers" and "A Dangerous Woman"), but this fact-based drama may make him a teen idol.

The film is a whole lot better than it appears to be in the dull trailers and even-less-imaginative television ad campaign.

And it doesn't hurt to have a cast of this caliber. Joining the talented newcomer are veteran character actor Chris Cooper and Laura Dern, whose earnest performances — as well as the surprisingly character-driven story — help the film glide over most of its rough spots (including a tendency to get a little too sentimental).

This adaptation of Homer Hickam's autobiographical novel, "Rocket Boys," also features a great message, and director Joe Johnston ("Jumanji") does a nice job of keeping things as low-key as possible.

Gyllenhaal stars as Hickam, the young son of a coal miner, who eventually became a NASA engineer. But his struggle to get out of the mines wasn't easy. Growing up in 1950s West Virginia, Homer was expected to follow in his father's footsteps.

However, when he spies the Soviet satellite Sputnik flying overhead, Homer discovers what may be his ticket out: rocketry. Enlisting the help of two school chums (William Lee Scott and Chad Lindberg), Homer starts building and launching his own rockets.

But he faces several obstacles, not the least of which are his ignorance of physics and his father (Cooper), who sees Homer's experiments as little more than flights of fancy — an attitude echoed throughout the town.

Fortunately, Homer finds a pair of allies — an unpopular fellow student (Chris Owen) and his teacher, Miss Riley (Dern). They provide invaluable know-how, and encouragement, respectively.

As mentioned, the performances are very good, especially Gyllenhaal and Cooper, whose dramatic conflicts are as believable as the eventual resolution. Dern and Natalie Canerday are also quite good as the two most important women in Homer's life.

And though the film isn't completely free of cloying moments, Johnston doesn't linger on them, and he cleverly concentrates on the interactions between characters instead.

"October Sky" is rated PG for profanity, sports violence and some explosions, as well as use of some vulgar slang.