Kramer vs. Kramer
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Movie Reviews of Kramer vs. Kramer
Movie Review: Beautiful Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Dustin Hoffman, Justine Henry, Merryl Street are great in this movieMovie Review: a landmark film
Summary: 4 Stars
* This movie captures its time. I am in my forties and I know several people in my generation whose family dynamic parallelled that of the Kramers-- a workaholic father, and an under-appreciated mother whose dysfunctional relationship scars their child (as poignantly symbolized by the prominently pictured scar on the character Billy's eye).
* The acting by each of the Kramers is believable. I rate the boy Billy as the most surprisingly well acted and touching, with Meryl Streep's character not far behind. Dustin Hoffman's performance was fine, though he has always struck me as being full of himself, and desperately in need of being the center of attention, as he seemed to be in this film.
* The court scenes: I would agree with several reviewers who thought they were caricatures, most glaringly so when Dustin Hoffman's character's lawyer yells at Meryl Streep like he was her father and she was a child who had broken an expensive vase. Nevertheless, I still felt the pain of each side, as well as the shame of needing to be in a trial before they could truly listen to one another. Again, I know several people whose parents were involved in divorce proceedings that must have had much in common with the Kramers'.
* I loved the father-son scenes where they are bonding. Bedtime reading, Dad listening to corny kid jokes, Dad letting his son cry and not giving in to the urge to make him stop, Dad holding his son and encouraging him to be brave while getting stitches. I think this is one of the films that made it culturally OK for fathers to do these things, and nowadays people forget how pervasive it was for fathers to be breadwinners and nothing more.
* (SPOILER) I would agree with other reviewers' assertion that motherhood was ultimately given the shaft in this film. Meryl Streep decides in the end to give up her son, in what I can only assume was a 'happy ending' meant to boost ticket sales. After all, the film encourages us to sympathise with the father and does a comparatively half-hearted job of invoking our emotions for the mother, so what else besides the father keeping his son could be considered a happy ending? This definitely felt like a sell-out moment by Meryl Streep. I would cite this as the single, though painfully glaring, blemish of the story.
* Despite this smearing of an unappreciated mother, I still think the film holds a lot of truth about its generation, and that its contribution to the cultural shift that saw fathers being encouraged to spend more time in more ways with their children and their wives is ultimately unappreciated by those who say the film has not aged well.
Movie Review: Excellent performances
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very good movie with three extraordinary leading performances. Much has been said about the work of Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry (who plays their son) in this film. 23 years later, these peformances remain great. Everyone knows what powerful actors Hoffman and Streep are at their best. So what really stood out to me was Justin Henry. He is absolutely natural; not a "phony" moment in his performance. I do wonder if the film would've been even better if Streep's character had been fleshed out a bit more. It's extremely hard to relate to her. We don't see anything particularly bad or intolerable in Hoffman's character, so her abandoning of their son seems unconscionable. She had to go "find herself?" I had no sympathy for her, simply because it seemed she walked away from a loving and devoted husband. I understand he was very busy with work, but he was putting food on their table. When raising kids, sacrifices must be made. Hoffman's character sacrificed most of his leisure time in order to work hard. Based on what we see in the film, Streep's character didn't want to make those kinds of sacrifices.
Anyway, if a movie can spark conversations, or even debates, it must've done something right. The DVD features an insightful 50 minute documentary, loaded with interviews of all the principal participants in this well-made movie.
Movie Review: Divorce In The 70's
Summary: 4 Stars
1979's Kramer vs. Kramer mirrored a trend that was becoming more and more prevalent in America in the 1970's, the breakup of marriages. Dustin Hoffman & Meryl Streep star as Ted & Joanna Kramer. Ted is the prototypical yuppie. His job in an advertising company is really accelerating and it is taking up most of his time from his family that also includes eight-year old Billy (Justin Henry). Ted is so involved in his career, he knows little of the day-to day routine of his own household. One day, Ted's world is shattered when Joanna leaves him and Billy in order to find herself. Ted must learn how to raise his son, juggle his work and home life and go through a divorce trial. The film is both poignant and touching as Ted & Billy bond and form a loving relationship. Mr. Hoffman is excellent as is Ms. Streep and Jane Alexander gives a strong turn as the Kramer's woman's libber neighbor who Ted feels egged Joanna on and caused the breakup of his marriage. But the true find is young Justin Henry. He gives one of the finest performances by a preteen in movie history. The film was much lauded and praised and come Oscar time, Mr. Hoffman finally took home the Best Actor award after several failed nominations. Ms. Streep won Best Supporting Actress, director Robert Benton took home the Best Director award and the film won Best Picture.Movie Review: 1979 Period Piece
Summary: 4 Stars
Definitely a period piece, it is worth a revisit 31 years later for several reasons. First, it gave Meryl Streep her first Oscar (as a "Supporting" Actress, so don't expect to see a lot of her). Second, it's an interesting look at what socially was probably ground-breaking gender-bending in 1979: the question of whether the best "mom" for a child caught in divorce could be the dad. And third, the young son caught between his parents is simply adorable!
What I like about this film is its realism. Neither parent is portrayed as the bad person, and the emotional development of each character is believable. The acting is superb, and the film is well written, directed, produced, and cast.
On the negative side, it is an emotionally heavy film, as, like in reality, the child is in such innocent pain. Also, by today's film standards, even though it lasts only 105 minutes, it is a little slow at times.
Adult themes, sexual situations, language.