Directed by:
Bob FosseCinematography:
Bruce SurteesComposer:
Ralph BurnsCast:
Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Bob Collins, Richard O´Barry, Kathryn Witt, David Joseph Martinez, Ted Sorel, Glenn R. Wilder, Bob Fosse (more)VOD (1)
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From his first gig as a nervous cat skill comedian, it's obvious that Lenny Bruce is a force to be reckoned with. Armed with a shocking routine and a stripper as his muse (Valerie Perrine), Lenny turns comedy and America on its ear with his abrasive and often offensive humor. But life in the smoke-filled bars of the comedy circuit begins to take its toll. The drugs and arrests for his subject matter wear heavily on this maverick crusader but don't stop him from pushing the envelope right to his tragic and myth-making end. (official distributor synopsis)
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It's unfortunate that I saw the two most outstanding films by Bob Fosse first and set the bar unreasonably high, and so my following encounters with his works were more awkward. Poor Lenny got the shortest straw. I was hoping for something similar to Forman's Man on the Moon, but it doesn't have the same quality when it comes to the screenplay, direction, or main character, let alone Dustin Hoffman's performance. Although Dustin is generally considered a great character actor, he doesn't suit the character of comedian Lenny. His stand-up routines aren't funny in his portrayal and are instead strained, and he adds an unintended dimension to the film. Furthermore, honestly speaking, Bruce wasn't a great personality but rather someone who appeared in the right place at the right time. He tended to parasitize the topics he worked with and definitely didn't care about anything more than making money from controversial content and style. I find myself having very little empathy for his human aspects because more than anything, he is a rather repulsive self-centered man. Overall impression: 45%.
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