Kramer vs. Kramer

I saw Kramer vs Kramer in DVD a few days ago and thougth that it didn't age very well. The first part is a flawless drama about how the perfect yuppie life changed to Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman), after his wife decided to leave him with their small son Billy (Justin Henry) so she can find herself.
Hoffman is wonderful: charming, vulnerable; the kid is cute an cries like a pro, and Meryl Streep is perfect as the unhappy young mother. New York City is beautiful and it's easy to emphasize with the dilemmas of mother, father and child; but when it comes to the part when it becames a courtroom drama, the argument of each lawyer are weak: Joanna won't be a fit mother because she has a demanding job, and Ted won't be a fit father because he sacrificed his lucrative job to care for his child.
After seeing Kramer vs Kramer and the way they supossed to deal in the late 70's with child custody, as Virgina Slims would have said: " We've come a long way, baby".

There are many films about the deterioration of the marriage arrangement, but very few of them can reach the levels of emotional attachment that `Kramer vs. Kramer' manages to grasp hold of. To say that `Kramer vs. Kramer' doesn't still resonate today is a miscalculation if you ask me, for even if the eventual result is softer and or more delicate than is often the case in reality, there is so much truth in every frame that one can't help but draw comparisons to similar situations today.

The film tells the story of Ted Kramer, a successful advertising executive who just landed a huge account and a big promotion. His joyful celebration is cut short when he arrives home to find his wife Joanna packed and ready to leave. After a brief and vague explanation she walks out of Ted and their son Billy's life and Ted finds himself in a very strange and foreign situation. It is clear right from the start that Ted doesn't know how to be a caretaker, but what I love about Ted is that even at it's roughest he is always a father, for his love for Billy shines through even his most extreme shortcomings. As the months pass their relationship strengthens and Ted winds up being the parent he always was just didn't know how to express, and Billy is better off for it. But then Joanna returns, wanting custody of the son she abandoned and Ted finds himself in an even tighter spot as he fights to keep the son he's grown to appreciate.

`Kramer vs. Kramer' plays out like two films. The first have is a sweet and inspiring journey of a man coming into his own, understanding how to be a father and how to raise a child. It's the story of a man who possible took everything he had for granted, but the instant his world was turned upside down he fought to come to an accurate appreciation of life's gems.

The second half though is much more exhausting, as Joanna and Ted find themselves fighting over Billy in court. The ugly side of divorce is brought on strong, and it shifts the tone of the film drastically. It reminded me of the first time I saw `Million Dollar Baby', how the first act and the second act represented two very drastically different emotion tones; one part raising your spirits and the second part obliterating them. `Kramer vs. Kramer' surely ends on a soft and sweet note (although it still had me bawling) but that second act is still devastating in its own right.

`Kramer vs. Kramer' feels very short, which I actually believe works to its benefit. I often prefer films that really elaborate on each character and scene and build a life inside itself, but `Kramer vs. Kramer' doesn't need to stretch the clock to do that. It quickly, yet efficiently, fleshes out our main characters (namely Ted) and never allows itself to drag on long enough to bore us. It's like a sucker-punch to the gut; quick and undetectable yet brutally effective.

The performances here are amazing to say the least. Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep definitely deserved those Oscars, for their portrayals of Ted and Joanna carry this film through all of its emotional arcs. Jane Alexander is wonderful as family friend Margaret Phelps, and rightfully landed herself an Oscar nomination. Her testimony is one of the most touching scenes in the film. Oscar nominated Justin Henry is just unbelievably real as young Billy. His performance just wrecked me. His final scenes with Hoffman are some of the most tender and honest scenes in the entire film. I remember the scene where they make French Toast for the second time (probably the single greatest scene in the film for all of its symbolic expressions of growth in relationship between father and son) and feeling the tears streaming down my face because the scene was so effortless, so natural.

`Kramer vs. Kramer' is a flawless film that still stands tall as an inspiring and moving cinematic landmark. I'm so thrilled that the Academy showered this film with multiple Oscar wins, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Lead Actor and Supporting Actress. There aren't many films out there today that have this sort of power.

Kramer vs. Kramer (Robert Benton, 1979)

Okay, I'll admit it, almost thirty years later I wanted to see Kramer vs. Kramer again solely for the JoBeth Williams scene. Yes, I am shallow. It's all I really remembered from the movie, other than Meryl Streep's "I make thirty-one thousand dollars" speech. And it's just as much fun this time around as it was when I originally saw the movie over twenty-five years ago. (I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so; the first keyword for the movie at IMDB is "nude wearing glasses".) I was reminded, however, of much of the reason I seem to have forgotten the rest of the movie, which has not aged well at all.

Ted (Dustin Hoffman) and Joanna (Meryl Streep) Kramer are married with child, Billy (Justin Henry). All is not well in casa de Kramer, however, and Joanna runs off to find herself, leaving Ted with Billy. Ted, who has spent much of his time working and very little of it with Billy, has to learn to connect with the lil' bugger while simultaneously learning to be a single parent. Nine months and one lost job later, that's finally happened-- and then Joanna shows back up and wants custody of her kid. Cue dirty custody battle.

As enjoyable as the movie is on the surface-- and I certainly won't deny that the film is as well-acted as one would expect from a cast that includes not only the above but a whole host of the seventies A-list-- but Benton, adapting Avery Corman's novel for the big screen, manages to work in just about as many single-parent clichés and stereotypes as he possibly can. (Whether they were present in the novel or magically appeared in the script, I don't know.) Sure, he plays them wonderfully-- the recurring French-toast theme, for example-- but that doesn't make them any less cliché or stereotyped. Oh, look, here's the doofus dad who knows nothing about parenting! At least the idiotic Mr. Mom made no bones about the fact that it was idiotic. Kramer vs. Kramer wanted to pass itself off as intelligent comedy-drama, and did so well enough that it scored a Best Picture Oscar back when such a thing actually meant something. (Assuming it ever did, your call.) These days, cast and all, I wonder whether this movie would even make it to the theaters, or whether it would be sentenced to the Lifetime Movie Purgatory-- err, Network.

Yes, it's certainly a watchable film, if dated nowadays, but in the slightly more enlightened society in which we now live, I hope the script's defects are a lot clearer to those watching it now. ** ½

"Kramer vs. Kramer" is a perfect artifact that speaks to the discourses of the men's movement and the women's movement.

This is great work for several reasons. Hoffman (an art director) is trying to get his company a major contract. He comes home late to trealize that his wife (Streep) is leaving him and thus leaving him in charge of their preteen son Billy. We can infer that at least one reason was Hoffman's over involvement in his job. (Having no time for her) We are permitted some sympathy for Streep. At this time, divorces were becoming more and more common.

This movie seems to be a reaction against the concept that the mother was always the better parent if a choice had to be made. (One is entitled to wonder if this movie was the foundation for "Mrs. Doubtfire," but we won't go there.)

Moving on, Hoffman tries VERY HARD to handle his responsibilities to his son and job. We can see that this is taking its toll on him. But fortunately, he finds help from his wife's friend (Jane Alexander).

Hoffman is far from 'father knows best.' At one point, he is so frustrated, he picks Billy up and throws him. (Though on a bed) But this is what makes the movie great. He is a flawed human being who does the best he can under the circumstances. A touching moment is when Billy gets injured, and Hoffman rushes him through a busy street to get him to the hospital.

The platonic love between Hoffman and Alexander is a GREAT aspect of the movie. Despite Hoffman's problems with Billy, their relationship improves vastly. An especially beautiful scene is when he helps Billy learn to ride a bike.

But tensions rise. Streep resurfaces about a year later and decides she wants her son back.We can scarcely blame Hoffman for his frustrations here. If we had any sympathy for Streep, it's gone now. To make matters worse, Hoffman gets unexpectedly and brutally fired from his job. (Not a good situation in any case, but especially bad if you are trying to win a custody battle!) He lands a new job in one day. Despite the fact that he is overqualified for it, it is acceptable.

Oneof my few complaints is that Streep's lawyer uses some techniques that don't make sense. (Hoffman leaving work early to take care of Billy when he was ill.)

Without going on too long, in this sad story there is an interesting form of comic relief. When Billy asks about divorce, Dustin puts it in a way Billy can understand: "Well, sometimes Mommy and Daddy don't get along..."

Also worth noting are scenes where no words are spoken. When Hoffman and Billy get their routine down knowing that Streep is not coming back. Also, right before Billy has to leave, they have their breakfast routine down without having to say anything to each other.

Overall it's a great movie that shows conflicts don't always spring from heroes vs villains. Sometimes they spring from well meaning people with different ideas.