Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful, fascinating film
Review: Wow. I had wondered if Lynch would be able to place his signature "stamp" on a G-rated film, but that is just exactly what he did. This film is as Lynchian as any of his other works. David Lynch's filmography is probably the strongest argument for the "auteur" theory I've ever encountered, or at least as strong an argument as Kubrick's, or Spielberg's.Anyway, it was great to see so many of the Lynch Regulars -- Freddie Francis, Angelo Badalamenti, Jack Fisk, Harry Dean Stanton, Everett McGill -- pop up in the credits and in the film. Richard Farnsworth delivers an amazing performance; he really conveys a very strong sense of what it must be like to be old, plus he has great support from a fantastic script. In fact, I found one of the most fascinating things about the script to be that it allowed its senior citizens to have not only a pulsating and vital inner life, but also a fully-realized external life, and an equally vivid personal history, as well. What I mean is that in this film, we see old people exactly the way we might see ourselves when we are old; we want people to know that we're not just aged, wizened baldpates; we've lived a lifetime's worth of experiences and had adventures most people could never imagine that we've had. I love the scene in the bar when Alvin and the other fellow are comparing WWII stories, and we realize that Alvin is so much more than just some ornery ol' coot. Anyway, it was beautifully shot and brilliantly directed, but it loses some cachet because I genuinely disliked Sissy Spacek's overly mannered performance. We get the point, Sissy, your character has some developmental problems. Now, rein it in, sweetie: Oscar is watching and he does not approve.
Rating: 
Summary: A touching performance, good acting, but dragged out!
Review: I can see why Farnsworth got the nomination for academy award. He was totally believable and lovable in this role, probably in person too, so it saddens us that this was his final film. It is the story of an old man who has been estranged from his only brother for 10 yrs. He lives with a daughter, played by Sissy Spacek, who seems to be mentally challenged, or "slow" but whom he claims is as sharp as a whip, just pining for her kids. She usually drives him around as he can't drive due to physical limitations. He is informed that his brother has had a stroke and decides he needs to go to him and mend fences. The movie is about his journey to get there, several states away, as he drives himself and treks through the country on his small John Deere lawnmower pulling a trailer. He encounters several people along the way, and gives a little of himself to each one before he moves on.
I bought this movie for my grown son who had seen it many years ago and wanted it for his collection. It does have its charm, and a good "touchy, feely" likeness to it. All the actors were good in it, but the ending lacked something. We wanted to hear more from the brothers. It was primarily about the journey, the destination seemed anti-climatic. My husband couldn't stay with it. It didn't move along fast enough for him, but for the right kind of viewer it may be worthwhile owning.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Film from One of the Best Living Directors
Review: Love him or hate him, David Lynch always manages to surprise. With "The Straight Story," a G-rated family film released by Disney (surprised yet?), he gives audiences a reason to sit and ponder reality - to look up at the stars and imagine, and to look at friends and family with love. Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth, in his last movie role), a mostly-disabled farmer living with his slow-but-gentle daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek), learns that his health may be declining after both his hips give out. His doctor tells him that unless he quits smoking and begins to eat well, he will have more serious health problems. Then, Alvin gets a phone call from his brother, Lyle, who has suffered a stroke. Alvin and Lyle have not spoken in years, and Alvin decides to go visit. With bad eyesight and a daughter who cannot drive, Alvin sets off across Iowa to Wisconsin on a riding lawnmower, trailer in tow. Along the way, he meets a variety of people who help him out, and talk with him about his trip and why he's going. As he meets different people, more of Alvin and Lyle's background is revealed, and the good nature of the main character becomes apparent. Lynch is a master filmmaker, and in his hands this script becomes magic. It moves along at a lawn-mower pace (pardon the pun), preferring to focus on character and dialogue than action, weaving an amazingly-accurate portrayal of middle-low-class Midwestern life. Lynch is known for his attention to detail, and he does not disappoint: most, if not all, of the film was shot on-location and in real buildings (as opposed to soundstages), and he bucked convention and cast real-life people in real-life roles. These aren't liposuctioned models or Hollywood pretty-boys; women have cottage cheese on their legs, men have scars and stubble, clothes are dirty, hair is greasy, and houses are dirty - in other words, it's got a sense of verisimilitude rare in any film. "The Straight Story" is, in many ways, an anti-"Blue Velvet" or an anti-Tragedy (in the true meaning of that word). Like "BV," it offers an unflinching view of middle-class life, but instead of the constructed, artificial town of Lumberton, "The Straight Story" offers something more like a documentary look at people. Although no one in the film moralizes, and Lynch certainly doesn't use his camera to preach, what "The Straight Story" manages is to paint a view that, at their hearts, people are basically good. While bad people, car chases, explosions, and Evil Warlords might make a good movie (or a profitable newscast, depending on your level of cynicism), it's refreshing to see a master present a project that reminds us that, at our core, we are all good people, and it's really not that difficult to be good to each other. As for the DVD, I think it goes without saying that watching Lynch's films in anything but widescreen is a crime, so it's good they gave us a solid, anamorphic transfer. He doesn't like extras, so everything is bare-bones, but considering the quality of the motion picture, the price can be forgiven. Final Grade: A
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Quite simply, this was the worst movie I have ever seen. This guy decides to ride his lawnmower half way across the country to see his long lost brother. Good for him. I wouldn't do it, and did not appreciate being along for the ride in this awful movie. For some background info, I am not a David Lynch fan. I enjoyed Blue Velvet, but have pretty much hated everything else by him. But this is the worst.
Rating:
Summary: Another side of David Lynch
Review: Many of the below reviews explain why this film is excellent. I wanted to add that it's not an atypical Lynch film. Not very like his past efforts, yet his hand is evident. Lynch has always been fascinated with texture, long drawn out closeups of normal surfaces, and there is that (the corn fields, the highway). There are (mildly) quirky characters and incidents (the deer lady; the repairman brothers -- one with an unusual bandage, of sorts, on his chin). There are otherwise normal characters carrying dark secrets (the vets discussing World War 2). And while Lynch has always been fascinated with the dark secrets beneath Middle America, he's also long evinced a genuine love for Middle America. His tales tend to be about innocents who are attracted and drawn into darkness, yet they are at the same time genuinely innocent. And Lynch has never mocked them for their innocence, just as he does not mock them for their quirks. The Straight Story emphasizes this softer side of Lynch -- his love of Middle American innocence -- but that's always been an element of his work, albeit under-emphasized in Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. Likewise, Lynch's longtime music collaborator, Angelo Badalamenti, creates a score that's also softer yet typical of Badelamenti's work. The Straight Story is masterpiece that stands on its own, but it remains a Lynchian masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Simpler than
Review: No snake skin jackets. No Micheal J. Anderson. No Black Lodge. No Hollywood. No deformed Englishmen. No angels under the radiator. No Kyle MacLachlan. No sci-fi spectaculars. No Marilyn Manson cameos. No identity swapping. No "I have your disease in me now." Yes, sir, this is not your typical David Lynch film. The first time I saw this, I was blown away by the almost void of idiosynchcrasies. There is the occasional "party" reference to remind you that you are still watching a film by THE David Lynch but it is mostly just there to tell a most unusual true story about brotherly love and devotion. This is Lynch's first true story film since "Elephant Man" and may be his best overall production since. Before this, people said his strongest, most put-together film was "Blue Velvet," but now it has been replaced with this gem. It contains the final performance of Richard Farnsworth (who, I think, SHOULD have won the OSCAR that year. Sorry, Mr. Spacey). And marks the first time the wonderful Sissy Spacek (who has worked with Lynch since "Eraserhead") has acted for Lynch as Alvin Straight's most secretive daughter. Though most Lynch devotees will be bored senseless while waiting for things to get "wierd," most viewers content with watching G-rated, Disney-distributed films will find inspiration and enjoyment at watching the old man go all of that way, even if Lynch might be discreetly mocking him at times (just look at that shot of Alvin going only abut five yards after fifteen seconds when the camera goes up and comes down on him). The Badalamenti music (see, this film isn't so unusual for Lynch, after all) is also top-notch, even if if it doesn't always mix with the final picture completely at times. Overall, a triumph for Lynch and its actors. This deserves to become a family classic!
Rating:
Summary: Balm for a transplanted Midwesterner
Review: This film perfectly captures the pace of small town life in the Midwest; the old men who spend the last years of their lives sitting around the hardware store or the tavern, people who can make an afternoon's entertainment watching the volunteer fire department burn down an old house for a training exercise, who still say sir and ma'am and who wouldn't presume to make a long distance call on your phone without paying for it. I recognize these people. They aren't fancy pants Hollywood starts made up to look like midwesterners; they're genuine, the neighbors, aunts, and uncles that I grew up with. The pace could be called slow, but to me it feels serene and peaceful. It's a calming balm after a day of fast-paced west coast life, like a trip back home to remind me of who I am.
Rating:
Summary: BASED ON A TRUE STORY
Review: THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS MOVIE IS KNOWING THAT IT WAS BASED ON A TRUE STORY. RICHARD FARNSWORTH PLAYS THE PART OF A LIKEABLE CHARACTER WHO ENDS UP DRIVING A RIDING LAWNMOWER ACROSS SEVERAL STATES TO SEE HIS BROTHER. THE REASON WAS HE COULD NOT SEE WELL ENOUGH TO DRIVE SOMETHING MORE CONVENTIONAL. THE SCENERY WAS BEAUTIFUL AND BREATH TAKING. IF YOUR MORE INTO ACTION ADVENTURE, YOU MAY FIND THE MOVIE TO SLOW AND BORING. IF YOU LIKE THE THOUGHT OF EVER TRAVELING BY "OTHER" THAN CONVENTIONAL METHODS YOU MAY FIND THE MOVIE DELIGHTFUL.
Rating:
Summary: the character of a character actor
Review: This is not just the true story of very determined man named Alvin Straight, it is also a truly straightforward story, an unusual thing in modern movies
and a real surprise coming from David Lynch. With his own mortality staring him in the face, Alvin Straight, 73 years old, decides to go visit the
once beloved brother, Lyle, from whom he has been estranged for ten years, their quarrel a product of sibling rivalry as old as the Bible and the
baleful influence of liquor. What might have been a simple enough five hour car ride becomes an epic journey when he decides to travel the 300
miles from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin on a riding lawnmower : I've got to go see Lyle, and I've got to make the trip on my own. Along the way he meets a young runaway girl; a woman who plows into a deer in front of him, apparently a near daily occurrence for her; a couple
who allow him to spend a few days with them after he fries a motor on a steep downhill grade; a fellow WWII vet tending bar; and finally a pastor in
whose cemetery he stops overnight. Over the course of the six week sojourn he slowly reveals himself and his regrets for his part in the feud that has
separated him from his brother. As he tells the pastor: I want to sit with him and look up at the stars, like we used to, so long ago. When finally he gets to Lyle's place, his penance done, the two do indeed sit in comfortable silence on the front porch, as the stars come up overhead. It's the kind of speechless togetherness that only people who truly love one another are capable of maintaining and enjoying. This is entirely Richard Farnsworth's film, a role he richly deserved after a lifetime in the movies. He began in Hollywood as a teenager in 1937,
doubled for Roy Rogers and Gary Cooper, drove a chariot in The Ten Commandments, worked as a stuntman, a role player, and only very
occasionally the lead. Farnsworth was one of the few truly conservative people left in Hollywood and maybe the only one in recent memory who
sometimes turned down films that failed to meet his own ethical standards--as regards profanity, sex, and violence. Somehow--and I've no idea
how--that integrity was etched into his face. In the underrated movie The Big Kahuna there's a scene early on where a young man tells Danny DeVito that a secretary said he'd be easily
recognizable because his face has character. Later on there are scenes where DeVito is almost preternaturally calm and the only forward momentum
of the story is supplied by that character-filled face. Farnsworth had such a face too and that's an exceedingly rare quality in any human being, but
especially an actor, particularly in a day and age when special effects, plastic surgery, and bad scripts have made it easy to cast pleasant looking idiots
in most movie roles. Recall the scene in Sunset Boulevard when Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) says : "We had faces then". In that silent era
faces were required because they had to communicate. Today, when the films don't even bother trying to communicate anything, who cares if the
faces say anything? Well, when you see what a real face, like Farnsworth's, can convey, you'll realize what we're missing. Fittingly, this was Richard Farnsworth's last role. Like Alvin Straight he went out on his own terms; stricken with a painful terminal cancer, he shot himself on October 6, 2000. GRADE : A
Rating:
Summary: If you have no room in your life for sentiment
Review: you might as well be dead. This is a beautiful movie. I'll admit that it is really American, though. One of the most American movies ever made. If you want to try to understand our people, you can start here. I will guarantee that it's less stressful than trying to understand Arabs.
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