Product Details

• Actors: Don Knotts, Leslie Nielsen, Joan Freeman, Jesse White, Jeanette Nolan
• Directors: Edward Montagne
• Writers: Everett Greenbaum, James Fritzell
• Producers: Edward Montagne, Billy Sands
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: April 30, 1996
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304005555
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,916 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Item Name: The Reluctant Astronaut; Studio: Universal Studios

From the Back Cover

Don Knotts stars with Leslie Nielsen in the fun family comedy about a regular guy who ends up becoming a renowned astronaut--despite his fear of heights.

Knotts is Royal Fleming, a carnival worker who runs a spaceship ride for kids. Concerned about his future, Royal's dad sends an application to NASA--in his son's name! After being accepted, Royal sets out for Florida--only to discover his new job involves sweeping floors, not space travel. That is until NASA learns of Russia's plans to put a civilian into orbit--and chooses Royal to man its own experimental flight. Summoning his courage, the reluctant astronaut blasts into space, and an unlikely hero is born.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hilarious Cold-War Period Piece, September 18, 2001

By 

Tome Raider (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reluctant Astronaut [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I read Mr. Maltin's brief review and was astonished that somebody who is in the business of reviewing films could so easily write this movie off. This film is hilarious; it has an innocence that we don't see much anymore. Don Knotts was a comedic genius, I'd without hesitation put him on a par with Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Jim Carey. He plays the nerdly goofball brilliantly, and we can all see a bit of ourselves in his various awkward moments. This movie skillfully mocks the Cold War tension with it's parody of the Space Race, and there's even a little romance as Don lusts for a beauty who barely acknowledges his existence until she hears that he's going to be an astronaut. The soundtrack is great as well, very happy stuff and it reminds me of the old Sunday night Disney show's music.

My wife and I watched this on Septemeber 15, 2001, four days after September 11, 2001. It was exactly the ticket for helping us to forget for a moment the ugliness of the real world.

I've never been very impressed by Mr. Maltin. He gives terse conclusions which are unsubstantiated by specific references. I'm 41 years old and this movie entertained me like few others. Don Knotts is an undervalued classic; my bet is that after he passes away there will be a big revival for his work.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wrong, Mr. Maltin, February 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Reluctant Astronaut [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Once again Leonard Maltin is wrong, wrong, wrong (see above). You either like Don Knotts or you don't. For those who do, and there are millions of us, his comedies from the 1960s like "The Reluctant Astronaut" are very entertaining, and, yes, very funny films.

I grew up in the 1960s and "The Reluctant Astronaut" was another of those Don Knott's comedies that the whole family was taken to the drive-in theatre on a Friday night. For Leonard Maltin to call this childish is an unfair statement. I'm almost forty now and I still LOVE watching this movie as every bit as I did back in '67. I would never pay a dime to see Leonard Maltin act and I always turn the channel whenever he comes on television with one of his one sided reviews.

What is funnier than seeing Knott's up in space opening a special can that shoots out peanut butter and then proceeds to do a dance around him like a snake? I am on the floor rolling! And who would ever think that Leslie Nielsen would ever become the icon for 90s comedies that he has today? He is very straight in this film which gives the film balance.

They don't movies like this anymore. I highly recomend this video. Buy it now before it goes out of print.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best film of Don Knotts' brief film career, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reluctant Astronaut [VHS] (VHS Tape)

An entertainingly funny movie starring one of the most underrated acting talents of all time. This was one of the many low-budget comedies produced in Hollywood in the mid-sixties, but it ranks up there among the best. The screenplay and the role seem tailor-made for Knotts.