King of weird, David Lynch, takes a turn for the pastoral in “The Straight Story.” It’s easy to see why Lynch would be drawn to a story like this.

It is a road story after all, with the same elements as any other. A guy on the road meets up with a seemingly endless parade of folks, chats with them, solves problems and gets into adventures.

This is a Disney movie, so the King had to tame down the weirdness and make it marketable for the masses of old folks who went to see it after their Sunday trip to Bishop’s Buffet.

The film opens to the same small town montage as Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” giving the impression that Lynch is going to provide us with the same look beneath the sweet veil of normalcy as in past efforts.

This time, though, there are none of the freak show elements resting below the surface. One cannot help but believe this was an intentional jab at Lynch’s past efforts or an inside joke for fans who might be looking for that kind of fare.

“The Straight Story” is a true story set here in Iowa. It’s the tale of Alvin Straight, a 70-something widower from Laurens, Iowa, who has a bad hip and a mildly retarded daughter played by Sissy Spacek.

Alvin learns that his estranged brother, Lyle, is dying. Having no conventional means of reaching his brother in Wisconsin for a slate-cleansing reunion, Alvin decides to hop aboard his 30-year-old riding lawnmower with a a trailer of supplies.

Along the way he meets an assorted group of people with whom he bonds, gives advice to and reveals details about his own life for our benefit.

There is very little of the extremely bizarre here, but Lynch manages to squeeze a couple of oddities into the mix.

This does not have the same effect that it would in a full out weird flick like “Wild at Heart.” You expect and deserve to meet some really screwed up characters under those circumstances.

In “The Straight Story,” an otherwise normal and even uplifting film at times, it just distracts from the plot.

No one needs to see an overweight sunbather eating Snowballs with precision and delicacy to know that strange things can happen out here in the heartland as well as anywhere.

These minor glimpses into the bizarre point to Montana-born Lynch’s obsession with finding the heart of darkness that lurks just below the surface of supposedly normal Middle America. It is so ’80s at this point that Lynch threatens to date himself irreparably.

We know life is “wild at heart and weird on top” so you can give it a rest, Dave. The news has made sure we all know what a bunch of freaks we really are so get on with it already, joyboy.

Played with consummate professionalism, Hollywood veteran Richard Farnsworth, manages to keep things on track almost in spite of the story and direction. He seems to have a feeling for the character that reflects a deep connection.

In many ways, this is a tale of absolute determination in the face of overwhelming odds. At five mph, it takes weeks to get to Wisconsin. On a 30-year-old lawnmower, breakdowns are constant impediments. Yet, the entire time, Alvin remains calm and steadfast, an example to all he encounters.

On the road, Alvin meets a variety of people with problems of their own. In each case, Alvin has some bit of homespun wisdom to impart. This gets a bit tedious when you think about it.

Just because a guy is old doesn’t mean he can solve the problems of everyone he meets. This has to be the greatest departure from the true tale in the movie. You gotta fill the running time with something, however, and there are only so many beautiful shots of the Iowa landscape an audience can “ooh” and “aah” at. Any more would have been gratuitous.

It is beautifully filmed though and even native Iowans should be able to find something to appreciate in seeing their home turf portrayed by Hollywood outsiders looking at it with fresh eyes and wonder.

Hopefully, Lynch will just go back to doing the weirder than hell movies he is famous for. He is a filmmaker with a unique vision. He can translate dreams and nightmares to the screen like no other.

But next to “Dune,” this is one of David Lynch’s least interesting efforts. In spite of solid performances, it is really just a fancy CBS made-for-TV movie fare. Save the money and watch “Touched by an Angel,” because “The Straight Story” is just a little too straight.

2 Stars

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Rating based on a 5 Star scale.

Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs. He is opnion editor of the Daily.