MGM
Directed by Robert Altman
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)
The story, as best as I can tell, is an allegorical coming-of-age fable about Brewster McCloud, a teenage boy living in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome. He is obsessed with flying, probably representing his desire to break free from his mother, played by the angelic Sally Kellerman. She follows him around town, murdering people who threaten him. However, she does nothing to stop the girls in his life. Shelley Duvall is a tour guide who steals his virginity. At that point, his mother/guardian angel departs him. Brewster tries to impress the girl by flying around the Astrodome on some wings he made based on plans by the Wright brothers, leading to tragedy. There are spoofs of car chases and macho detectives. Rene Auberjonois is an eccentric professor of ornithology who provides running commentary on the similarities of characters in the film to birds. At first he is amusing, then annoying but ultimately pointless. One of Hollywood's most idiosyncratic directors most idiosyncratic film.
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