Sometimes, it pays to pay attention in class – or so we learn in “On a Wing and a Prayer,” a fact-based look at a passenger’s attempt to land a plane and save his family.
Based on the story of Doug White (Dennis Quaid), a businessman who hasn’t quite learned all the ins and outs of flying, the film chronicles what he – and others – did to get the plane to safety.
The mission emerges when the twin-engine plane’s pilot dies and White is forced to take the wheel. Relying on the help of air traffic controllers, other pilots and what he remembers from flying lessons, he keeps the plane afloat. But then, weather and other concerns force the issue. A controller contacts a pilot who has flown a plane like White’s and offers help from a makeshift home cockpit.
It’s an interesting dilemma – compounded by the reality factor – but much of the film lacks the believability that better production values could have provided. At times, it looks like Quaid is sitting on a runway going through the motions. While he’s good at looking concerned and perplexed at the same time, “Wing” looks like a lesser version of “Julie,” “Airport 1975” and any number of other imperiled plane films.
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Because director Sean McNamara wants to emphasize the miracle aspect of the situation, he leans into White’s life before the flight – showing his small town roots, his barbecue forays and the impact of his brother’s death. That gets the would-be pilot to question his faith and face a real wake-up call: the ride home.
Others have those moments of doubt, too, particularly the pilot who is pressed into service to help him land safely. While the outsider (nicely played by Jesse Metcalfe) doesn’t get much of a backstory, he is important to the film’s resolution.
Because so much of this plays out like a made-for-TV movie, it’s hard to feel many of the emotions. Heather Graham (as Quaid’s wife), has to deal with her children – and the dead pilot – in the back of the plane. She has potential to react as we would but McNamara doesn’t give her enough time. Instead, the focus is on Quaid looking appropriate confused.
While some choices are too obvious (“Spirit in the Sky” is used in the soundtrack) and outsiders’ commentary (“this is a suicide mission”) can seem overwrought, the basic premise still holds: What would you do if you were forced to fly a plane? The controller’s decision to find someone who knows how to do it is brilliant – and worthy of the tension that surrounds it.
Much, though, plays out in broad Hallmark strokes. There’s not a big town celebration at the end, but plenty undercuts the reality. When McNamara shows footage of the actual participants (and the swagger White possesses), “On a Wing and a Prayer” becomes a story worth telling. Beforehand, it’s much too familiar – just like the title.
"On a Wing and a Prayer" airs on Prime Video.
