a true wholesome american story about teenager who be interested in launch their own rocket in a rural west virginia coal mining town and after the launch of sputnik in 1957. through trial and tribulation and perseverance beyond belief and they be ultimately able to achieve their goal . jake gyllenhaal and a the leader of the group and be excellent in the title role . a his motivate science teacher and laura linney be quite good but her southern accent be over the top . there be a standout support performance by chris cooper and a head miner and who want his son to follow in his footstep and but gradually come around at film end . what make this film so unusual for our time be that there be no bed hop scene and no profanity whatsoever . it be the epitome of an american story that be well do . besides the science angle and we have the father son disagreement and football scholarship a a way to escape coal mining and and the love spirit of family . why aren not picture like this recognize more at award time .