Paging Ron Howard

A few weeks back, the Aero Theater in Santa Monica ran a Ron Howard retrospective and the director was there every night for a Q and A.   I went the evening they ran the spectacular "Apollo 13" which should have won a Best Picture Oscar and a Best Director award for Ron.   I was astounded all over again by the amazing work he did with this true story, brilliantly meshing the personal stories with the real event.

I bring all that up in this review of "First Man," because director Damien Chazelle performs just the opposite task that Ron completed.   Chazelle, unfortunately, misses all the cues on blending this true story with personal strife.   As a result, "First Man" turns out to be as underwhelming as your grandma's souffle which never rose.

This is sad to me on several counts.   First off, as a kid who remembers the first moon landing with much awe and reverence, I really wanted this movie to be good.   I wanted it to be the best film of the year.  I wanted it to win Oscars.  Instead, the award I give it is "Largest Disappointment of 2018."

I clearly didn't expect this.   I had high hopes largely because the director was Damien Chazelle, whose work in "Whiplash" and "La La Land" was so luminous.   Indeed, we have found a film genre this wunderkind doesn't excel in, even with executive producer Steven Spielberg's name firmly attached.

"First Man" wants to tell the tale of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the man whose one small step made history and essentially won the space race for the US.  But director Chazelle can't pick a focus and stay with it.   For a while, it's about the marital strife between Armstrong and his wife (played with an American accent by Claire Foy of "The Crown") over the death of their daughter.   Then it's about the dangers of going to outer space, given the loss of a couple of astronauts in a fire.   Then it's about the race for space itself.

As a result of this cinematic meandering, "First Man" looks wholly hollow, if that makes sense.  You get pulled in way too many directions.   Making matters worse, Chazelle depicts Mrs. Armstrong as a bitter wife and quite unlikable.  When I came home, I checked on-line and discovered the real Mrs. Armstrong died a few months before the film came out.  Lucky her.  

The only area in which Chazelle does succeed is his sensory depiction of flying into outer space and then walking on the moon.   He provides you with a bit of a theme park ride that can be exhilarating.   But you can also get that on a ride at Disneyland, too.

By the way, there was a lot of publicity when it was announced that "First Man" doesn't make a big deal of planting the American flag on the moon.   Yes, there is no scene.   But the flag is clearly visible in several shots, so there.

I know Ron Howard doesn't want to become the official NASA director in Hollywood.  But I really would have liked to see what his take would have been on the first moon landing.   It could only be an improvement when compared to "First Man."

LEN'S RATING:  Two stars.

Dinner last night:  Sausage, onions, and tomatoes.