Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

American film "Blue Sky" is about a crazy family's bittersweet adventures. This family is made up of disparate characters namely an army major who is absolutely dedicated to his job, his fashion conscious albeit flirtatious wife and two not so innocent but young daughters. The entire family is having emotional issues as circumstances force it to constantly move from one army base to another due to the top secret mission handled by the army man. What makes this film interesting is its focus on the tough life in American army. This Tony Richardson film is set in 1960s, a difficult period of American army when top secret nuclear testing was carried out by its army men. The sub plot involving nuclear tests brings forward a lot of emotional issues related to behavior of army men. It is with interest one watches how an honest army major is framed and put to a mental asylum while his wife is seduced by his boss. However, everything becomes alright when this crazy family uses all its intellectual might to defeat the enemy. Tommy Lee Jones displays his natural acting talent in his role as the army major. In the film, there is brief mention of some leading actresses such as Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. However,actress Jessica Lange appears to have beaten them all with her important role which combines madness with responsibility to portray a fallen woman who is able to regain lost family honor.

I was certainly of a torn mind when it came to Jessica Lange's performance in the first half. By that point, she had already gone pretty over-the-top, but to degrees I don't think she needed to. Either way she was entertaining camp so I wasn't sure how i felt about it overall. By the end of the film, Lange had been able to play other notes, to not just be over-the-top and loud, but also have sone quietly graceful moments. It's a good performance, but I'm not sure if I think it's a great one. It's crazy seeing Tommy Lee Jones so young, but he's pretty good here, internalized in a way we've come to expect from him, but he's effective. Overall decent, if unmemorable, film.

Shot in the Fall/Spring of 1989-90, "Blue Sky" wasn't actually released until 1994. The story involves a military family in the early 60s who move to an Alabama base. The wife (Jessica Lange) is erratic & bipolar and behaves like a loony Marilyn Monroe while the husband (Tommy Lee Jones) is unshakably faithful. The two daughters lament their mother's disorder, but the family's strong nevertheless. When the father goes to Nevada to work with bomb testing the commander of the base (Powers Boothe) has his eyes on the sexpot wife.I don't follow film awards, but Jessica won an Oscar for her performance as the hysterical wife and she deserved it. For this reason many hail the first two acts of the film, and Tommy Lee as well. Unfortunately, her character comes across as unlikable and even scary. You start to feel sad for the daughters! Some people criticize Boothe as being too dastardly of a villain. Don't believe it. Do these critics really think there aren't any high-ranking military personnel with a Genghis Khan complex? Men who think they're above the rules and can get away with anything their arrogant butts' desire? Boothe's character comes across as a solid military leader who's tempted by a subordinate's sultry wife and then does everything he can to save himself. This type of behavior is older than David and Bathsheba.Some complain about how unbelievable the last act is. Two things: (1.) This is a movie and movies always amp up the dramatics. The filmmakers essentially have to do this because, well, it's a movie and they only have 2 hours to tell the story. (2.) Besides, the film's making a point about Lange's character and it's important to the story. ***SPOILER ALERT*** It shows that, as erratic and unlikable as she is in the first two acts, she redeems herself by literally risking everything for her husband. It's a powerful and necessary point. ***END SPOILER*** This is also a good film about life on a military base, like "The Great Santini" with some similarities to "Desert Bloom", albeit not quite as good as either.The film was shot in Selma, Alabama, Florida and El Paso, Texas. It runs 101 minutes.GRADE: B

Tony Richardson's final film was well-done. Carly Marshall (Jessica Lange) is the wife of military guy Hank Marshall (Tommy Lee Jones) in charge of atomic tests. Due to his frequent absence, she's beginning to lose her grip on mental sanity. Somewhere along the line, she reaches the breaking point, which also makes her see the folly in Hank's propagandistic work. She has no choice but to undermine it.Jessica Lange finally won a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for "Blue Sky" (she should have gotten one for "Frances"). Maybe some parts are a little hokey, but it's overall a good movie, looking at the nuclear age and also relationships.