BLUE SKY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 3.8
Date Released: 9/16/94
Running Length: 1:41
Rated: PG-13 (Mature themes, language, brief nudity,
sexual situations)
Starring: Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Powers Boothe, Carrie Snodgrass, Amy Locane, Anna Klemp, Chris O'Donnell Director: Tony Richardson Producer: Robert H. Solo Screenplay: Rama Laurie Stagner and Arlene Sarner & Jerry Leichtling Cinematography: Steve Yaconelli Music: Jack Nitzsche Released by Orion Pictures
Once again, Orion Pictures has gone to the shelves to dust off a print for distribution. This time, it's the last feature of the late director Tony Richardson--a muddled melodrama wrapped around a cautionary tale about the dangers of nuclear fallout. The 1991 film shows its age with shots of Chris O'Donnell and Amy Locane looking significantly less mature than in some of their more recent screen appearances.
BLUE SKY is a dreary, disjointed affair that tries to tie together an anti-nuclear message with a family-in-crisis melodrama. The most significant problem is that the script is more dysfunctional than the Marshall clan. At no time is there a clear sense that this movie is going in any particular direction. It lurches along until stumbling upon something that passes for a conclusion.
Set in the early Sixties, BLUE SKY approaches the issue of underground nuclear testing and fallout as if it was a timely subject for today. Had the story been compelling, the approach might have worked, but this part of the tale--about a United States Army officer with a conscience (Major Hank Marshall, played by Tommy Lee Jones)--is heavyhanded, contrived, and cliched.
The dissection of Marshall's home life is potentially more interesting. He has a manic-depressive wife (Jessica Lange) and a pair of teenage daughters (Amy Locane and Anna Klemp) who long for stability. However, a resolutely downbeat tone (not necessarily a bad thing in itself) coupled with an agonizing example of over-the-top acting by Lange (reminiscent of the quality of her "work" in 1976's KING KONG) conspire to ruin these portions of BLUE SKY.
The ubiquitous Tommy Lee Jones gives a surprisingly bland performance. Maybe it's the character, but there isn't much here for the audience to latch on to or care about. Powers Boothe, playing a stereotyped nasty commanding officer with an inflexible mindset, is lifeless. Despite being one of several obvious villains, his Vince Johnson is too dull to actively dislike.
For those who crave originality, there's very little of value in BLUE SKY. This is unfortunate, considering that the film was the final effort of a respected director. Since their Chapter 11 filing, it seems that every time Orion Pictures gropes for something to release, it comes up with a dud. (Remember such "classics" as ROBOCOP 3 and MARRIED TO IT?) I suppose the library of undistributed movies must be as bankrupt as the company itself.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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