Lenny [DVD]

This film is good with respect to filling in a lot of gaps, but Dustin Hoffman is unable to mimic Bruce well.Also, it would have been nice if they had included his scit with the song 'Alone'.I thought the actress who plays his wife was very good.

What Bob Fosse’s 1974 biopic of taboo-breaking stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce may lack in terms of cinematic innovation, it makes up for as an important social statement of the times (essentially, the 1960s). Perhaps worryingly, even though one would like to think that times have moved on substantially in the intervening period, some of Fosse, writer Julian Barry and Bruce’s own observations on the hypocrisy of authority figures (politicians, police, church, judiciary), particularly relating to sexual matters, appear to be just as relevant over half a century later! Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal as Bruce was (rightly, IMO) nominated for the best actor Oscar and his cheeky chappie turned passionate social commentator (and thence, 'attorney’ for his own defence) is never more effective than when he is ridiculing the judiciary (to the amusement of onlookers) during the film’s later court-room sequences.Fosse’s film scores particularly well, courtesy of Bruce Surtees’ black-and-white (at times quasi-documentary style) cinematography, in its evocation of the cheap, seedy night-club scene in which Bruce plies his trade, the mood also being enhanced by Miles Davis’ superbly sultry version of It Never Entered My Mind playing on the soundtrack. Dramatically, the heart of the film is the alternately exuberant and self-destructive relationship between Lenny and Valerie Perrine’s sassy, warm-hearted stripper Honey – if anything, Perrine, with this moving performance, was even more deserving of her Oscar nomination than Hoffman. Structurally, the series of interviews of main protagonists, with flashbacks, is relatively conventional cinematic fare, but it does allow the likes of Jan Miner to shine as Lenny’s mother, Sally (there is particularly funny scene, playing up the family’s Jewish heritage, with Lenny’s archaic aunt).Despite Lenny and Honey’s obviously deeply felt love for one another, their drug-fuelled, law-breaking life trajectory has an inevitability about it and Fosse’s film is far from being a barrel of laughs. As a piece of social commentary, though, with much to say about still relevant subjects such as censorship, unbending social protocol, persecution, press manipulation, subversion and even prison rehabilitation, as well as (of course) documenting the life of a 60s icon, Fosse’s film provides an important snapshot of the times.

...Amazon's The Marvellous Mrs Maisel came to Prime. I want to see a remake with Luke Kirby in the title role. That aside Hoffman is one of the finest actor's of his generation and he gives a good performance of Bruce's descent into madness but seeing him play Bruce is like seeing Cruise play the Rice's eponymous Vampire Lestat: good enough only if you don't know the source material.

Good to see this subject approached but it could have been done so much better.

My knowledge of Lenny before watching this was only average and not expecting much the film surpassed my expectations. Dustin Hoffman is right at home playing Lenny and there is good support from Valerie Perrine. The ending seemed rather abrupt but otherwise a solid biopic. 3 1/2 stars.

The end was rushed, but loved the rest of the movie. Personally, I think it's Bob Fosse's best work. Worth watching for the nightclub scenes alone.

I knew Lenny Bruce, knew this guy who shocked the public with his dirty words and was put in jail for it, but the figure of Lenny disappointed me: after a while the only thing he did was complaining about the system, slamming the public with a serie of all his trials: dates and places and words. That's not amusing, that's realy very boring. Not Hoffman his fault of course, but never the less. Okay to discover the figure of Lenny Bruce, but that's all.

Well worth a watch. Fascinating. If you’re a fan of Dustin Hoffman - then a ‘must watch’!