I’ve had this movie at home for weeks now and just never got around to watching it until this weekend. I can’t believe I missed this movie the first time around – it was excellent! This movie came out a number of years ago and stars a babyfaced Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickem, a teenager growing up in a coalmining town in the 1950s. The Russian satellite Sputnik has just been launched, and Homer becomes inspired to build rockets. A young teacher (played by Laura Dern) then encourages him to enter the county science fair and try to make something of himself instead of the inevitable job in the coalmine.
The movie was very well done, and based on a true story. I liked that the DVD had a special interview with the real Homer Hickem in the bonus features, in which he goes into a bit more detail about his childhood, his relationship with his Dad (who ran the mine and didn’t want Homer building rockets), as well as his enduring friendship with the boys he built rockets with.
It’s a very endearing movie and I’m so glad I finally took the time to watch it.
4 flat top haircuts out of five.
Hickus = Hickam.
Fixed! Well, fixed (but misspelled).