Pretty Good

Expected more

For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

A few nights ago I watched THE RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT on Starz. Let's be frank, shall we? Don Knotts was hardly an American version of Laurence Olivier (he wasn't meant to be). I'd never seen this film before. In fact, aside from his TV sitcom work, I think the only film I'd ever seen him in was THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET since TCM aired it a few times. I wasn't impressed with LIMPET, and since I feel he's only ever playing variations of Barney Fife (including Ralph Furley), I wasn't expecting much when I sat down to watch RELUCTANT ASTRONAUT.I have to admit it was pretty tough going. At around 100 minutes, the film is simply too long, padded with filler and the dialogue is atrocious. The main idea about a guy mistaken to be an astronaut is a gag that could have been done in twenty minutes. They stretch it out by having NASA choose him, the most unlikely of candidates, to go into outer space after all. Then we get the last sequence where he's in space, things malfunction and he eventually returns home safely (and gets the girl!). The whole thing was implausible, utterly ridiculous. Could I have called it dumb or stupid? Sure. Did I do that? No. Because a light bulb went on and it suddenly occurred to me that I was not the intended audience. This is a kids' movie. Not for kids of today probably, but for kids in 1967. That was Don Knotts' audience, and those are the people Universal was selling tickets to, by making and releasing this film. So on that level, as harmless entertainment for children, it works. He's not Olivier, this is not Hamlet, and so what.

Roy Fleming (Don Knotts) plays an astronaut for the kids in a small town carnival. He's head over heels for fellow carnival worker Ellie Jackson (Joan Freeman). He is 35 and afraid of heights. His dominating father (Arthur O'Connell) doesn't listen to him. He had sent an application to NASA and they accepted. He tells the entire town and Roy reluctantly goes to Houston the next day. He is befriended by veteran astronaut Major Fred Gifford (Leslie Nielsen). It turns out that he's hired as an apprentice janitor supervised by Donelli (Jesse White). When his father and friends show up, Roy tries to pretend to be an astronaut. He causes general havoc and Donelli fires him.Don Knotts is a likable performer with his big googly eyes. The jokes aren't sharp. There're a few passable laughs. It's more of a light kiddie movie. It's a little annoying because the misunderstanding can easily be explained away. If he has a backbone, he would just tell the truth. If he has any brains, he would tell them that he washed out of the astronaut program. The story is nothing more than poor sitcom material. The movie is generally weak with a few small laughs along the way.

Despite the unrealistic final act that results from a pretty ordinary wacky sitcom premise, RA is able to deliver the out of orbit laughs it deserves due to comic legend and extraordinary nerdy actor, Don Knots. Leslie Nelson co-stars as a straight non-wacky non-funny man. It's interesting to see him play it straight after watching him in so many satirical and parody-type films.It may not be the smartest comedy ever to hit the screen, but it's fun and you could stick it in your DVD player and not have to worry about what lasting effect it would leave on your young ones. It may be somewhat unrealistic but it works and is still smarter and more intelligent then a lot of kid themed flicks that are made today. You can even pick out the logical inconsistencies with your kids and make it into a educational film, while still having a fun time.

Small-time carnival operator Don Knotts gets enlisted to work for NASA by his father. Of course the job Knotts has gotten is to be a janitor in Houston. Now Knotts must lie to all his friends and relatives to make them think that he is a real astronaut. NASA is in need of funds though and they show their confidence in their program by coming up with an idea to send a non-astronaut into outer space. Get the picture? A funny little film that is once again an exhibition of Knotts' talents. Leslie Nielsen is priceless as the astronaut assigned to be Knotts' primary instructor. A film that plays more like a long television show rather than an actual motion picture. Fair in the end. 2.5 out of 5 stars.