Dustin Hoffman Marathon: Part 1

My husband, K and our friend S started a tradition a few years ago of doing movie marathons.  Each of us take turns picking a theme and then we watch six or so films in that category and then at the end we have a little awards ceremony (well, we drink champagne and talk about our favorites in various categories).  We have done a bunch of different marathons: Italian Neo Realism, Woody Allen, Road Movies, Conspiracy Movies, Astaire v. Kelly and most recently Godard v. Truffaut.  S chose this time and he picked Dustin Hoffman movies (or alternatively to sound fancy: The Films of D. Hoffman).  We are halfway through the marathon so I thought I'd do a little recap of the three we've watched so far.

This was the most ridiculous picture I could find.

1. Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969): Fun fact:  Midnight Cowboy was the only X rated movie to win Best Picture; that makes is sound much more racy than it is.  Jon Voight is Joe Buck, a country bumpkin who idolizes the masculinity and rugged individualism of the cowboys of the American west.  After leaving his podunk town he journeys to New York City to become a male prostitute for the high class ladies who are yearning for a real man to come into their lives and satisfy them (or so he thinks).  In case you couldn't tell, he is perfectly naive and unprepared for the city and can't find any clients that fit the above description.  He meets Dustin Hoffman's conman, Ratzo Rizzo, and an unlikely friendship forms.  I generally enjoyed this film but I wasn't prepared for some flashbacks and psychedelic touches; I always thought it was a much more straightforward story.  Hoffman's performance was a bit more over the top than I expected and Jon Voight's performance was much more nuanced.

I love a man in an untied bow tie.

2. Lenny (Bob Fosse, 1974): Lenny is a biopic of comedian Lenny Bruce and his rise to fame and infamy told from the perspective of all of the people in his life: his mother, his wife and his manager.  Dustin Hoffman gives his best performance of the marathon so far as the titular character.  I loved the sensitivity and sweetness he infused into Lenny the man, while also showing us the great flaws that this man had. As Lenny the performer, he had the right infusion of vulgarity and glee.  Bob Fosse is one of the great American directors; I think he has such flair with the camera and with editing (Stop reading this blog and see All that Jazz, so great) and as with his other films I have seen, Lenny has a vibrancy and kinetic energy that brings the film to life.  So far, this has been my favorite of all the movies. Plus, I am a sucker for some pretty black and white cinematography.

Feathered hair!

3. All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976):  Confession:  I really have no idea what Watergate was.  I hoped that by watching this movie, I would understand it.  I didn't.  Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post journalists who brought the Watergate scandal to light.  I think this is a solid movie, the performances are strong; Jason Robards as the editor in chief stands out, but I feel that both Redford and Hoffman don't have that much character development.  I understand that this is the point and the film is a procedural, but both Redford and Hoffman bored me a bit in their performances.  It was also too long and too dry.  Also,  I found the weird ending where one second their lives are in danger and the next everything is tidily wrapped up a bit contrived. And I still don't understand Watergate!

So far from this marathon, I realized that I don't like Hoffman as an actor as much as I thought I did; I have been underwhelmed by two of his three performances.  Hopefully, the next three will change my mind.

Julie