Kramer vs. Kramer

Kramer vs. Kramer  (1979)

52nd Academy Awards

*Recommended*

I had this movie confused with the movie where the kid goes to court to divorce his parents.  But, that's Irreconcilable Differences.  Yes, the kid in "Kramer vs. Kramer" has long, blond hair, but there's no excuse to confuse him with Drew Barrymore!

Summary

Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) comes home from his high-powered advertising job to find that his wife, Joanna (Meryl Streep) is leaving him.  She is leaving their son, Billy, behind too.  Ted has to learn to care for his son, deal with his failed marriage, and still manage to get to work on time.  After over a year on their own, Joanna returns and says that she's 'found herself' and wants custody of their son. I decided to do away with the 'plot'

Acting

Dustin Hoffman is one of my all-time favorite actors.  Even from the opening scene, you could tell that he was going to ace it.  Both he and Meryl Streep both won best acting awards that year.  Well-deserved, if I do say so myself.  I loved the scene where Ted and his son are having a battle of wills over whether Billy can have ice cream even though he's not done with his dinner.  I read that the scene was improvised by the two actors.  It makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.  Justin Henry (Billy) was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, at only 7 years old.  No pressure, little dude!

Emotionality

I did not fall asleep during this film.  That's a plus!  It was compelling and you really want to root for Ted.  It didn't make everything so black and white.  It always bugs me in movies where they make the boyfriend/girlfriend/ex such an obviously bad choice that you don't really care that they leave them?  Like in The Wedding Singer where Julia is engaged to that uber-jerk Glenn...oh, so we're back to Drew Barrymore again!  In this film, you can sympathize with Meryl's character, as well. At least more toward the end.  At the beginning, I was a little pissed off at her, to be honest.

Timelessness

Custody battles, divorce, working moms, single dads...yup, it's still going on today.  There are plenty of families that struggle to balance work and family...probably more so now that that more mothers are working.  This film still hits a nerve today.  And, you've gotta love Meryl Streep's beautiful side-swept poufy ponytail.  Still totally fashionable! 

Fun Facts

The kid who played Justin Kramer also played Mike Baker in Sixteen Candles.  He's the little brother, who's a bit chunky (and a bit more obnoxious)

You've gotta check out Dustin Hoffman's acceptance speech.  Very interesting...