Blue Angels: A Backstage Pass

The Blue Angels, airshow favorites, are featured both from a personal point of view (as various members talk briefly about their experience as a Blue Angel) and as a group, as numerous film clips show the Angels doing what they do best: poetry in the air. What prevents this from being a really good program, however, is a marked indecisiveness over what it wants to be. On the one hand, it's a look at the lives and jobs of the Blue Angels, on the other it's a compilation of music videos--comprised of Blue Angel footage and contemporary rock songs. Songs like "Deliver Me" by Tom Petty and "Best of Both Worlds" by Van Halen are tied into the program by title only--both tunes are actually love songs. Or how about the landlocked "Railroad Steel" by the Georgia Satellites for a poor match between song and subject matter? About the only piece which seems to fit is Lionel Ritchie's "Dancing on the Ceiling," which is also accompanied by what looks like the most recent, as well as the most stunning, aerial footage of the Angels in action. Given the popularity of the Blue Angels, patrons will surely check this program out. But given its limitations, it's an optional purchase. (Available from most distributors.)