The Reluctant Astronaut

Pretty good movie from 1967 - a few laughs, good cast, Blu-ray version outstanding video and audio. (I first saw this when i was in my twenties and thought it was hilarious back then, but that could have been caused by the stuff that I was smoking)

This is such a great feel good movie. Don Knotts is a less confident version of Barney Fife here. This movie is in my top 3 of all time!

Goofy and forgettable. Don KNotts does his best at repurposing jokes from "The Andy Griffith Show." Very few of the jokes hit their mark, and the film is more uncomfortable than it is funny.

Typically silly Don Knotts vehicle has Don as the small-town operator of a carnival kiddie spaceship ride. Even though he's deathly afraid of heights, Don wants to be an astronaut and gets a letter from NASA offering him a job, except that's it's to be part of the custodial staff. This being a Don Knotts picture, Don mistakenly ends up in the astronaut program and hilarity ensures, or at least mildly funny comic moments of hilarity ensure with nervous nelly Knotts being helped through the program by macho astronaut Leslie Nielsen (which is funny in itself since Nielsen would later be the comic center of "Police Squad"/"Naked Gun" as Lt. Frank Drebin). Overall, "The Reluctant Astronaut" is not a classic, but it is mildly diverting. The film also features the debut of Melissa "Little House on the Prairie" Gilbert.

An intensely humorous Don Knotts picture, albeit dated.

The Reluctant Astronaut has a very ironic title. It is ironically true, since the movie is pretty reluctant to show us anything beyond what we already know in its predictable, mushy plot. The movie is decidedly unimaginative and bland.

NOT funny doesn't even begin to describe this dud. Even if you're a huge Don Knotts fan (which admittedly I am not), the jokes and humor are few and far between in this one. The release date of 1967 is a little surprising--other than being in color, it has the look and feel of a bland, harmless mid-50s comedy. I was mainly interested in this to see an early comedy performance from Leslie Nielsen. Alas, he hadn't quite made the full jump to comedy yet, and he's utilized here as the strait man to Knotts' goofball. The plot has been summarized here nicely, so I won't rehash. Personally, I find this kind of unbelievable high-concept goofiness, so popular in the 50s and 60s, to simply no longer be funny or relevant in the new millennium. It's my opinion. But if Don Knotts being given a string of near-inexplicable excuses to bug his eyes out at the camera for an hour and a half is your idea of a good time, have at it.

Classic. Nothing funnier when it came out. Father thinks he's sending his son to be an astronaut but he becomes a janitor instead. Son tries to tell the truth and keep the hero worship at home going but with problems.

A clumsy and boring comedy which is so formulaic that even the jokes are predictable.

Don Knotts is great! Good to see a young appearence from Leslie Nielsen :)