Director Bob Fosse (ALL THAT JAZZ) tackles the story of groundbreaking and controversial stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce (Dustin Hoffman, THE GRADUATE). The film takes a faux documentary approach to recapping the rise and fall of the funny man, who pushed the boundaries of what could be said on stage in an effort to expose American hypocrisy.
In the interviews, Lenny’s drug-addicted wife Honey (Valerie Perrine, SUPERMAN), his manager Sally Marr (Jan Miner, MERMAIDS) and his smarmy agent Artie Silver (Stanley Beck, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR) reminisce over the life and career of Bruce, who died of a drug overdose right before he was to go to jail. Bruce was a genius who bordered on madness. His obsession with the stage and pushing the boundaries of social norms to make his point, lead him to cult fame, but also down a path of paranoia-fueled drug abuse.
Central to the film’s success in the mesmerizing performance of Hoffman, who channels the essence of Bruce to an uncanny level. Hoffman has never been better. Also driving home an unsettling authenticity is the documentary style of the story. We really feel like we’re watching never-before-seen footage of Bruce at work, at play and in the middle of a breakdown. It’s haunting to watch as he becomes obsessed with his arrests and turns his stand-up act into a tirade against the hypocrisy of the law, which preaches freedom of speech, but only speech that the people in power want to hear. It’s saddening to see such a progressive thinker spiral out of control and become more of a freak show act than a comedy performer.
The handling of the interviews is brilliant and establishes the characters of Honey, Sally and Artie subtly and brilliantly. The film knows that sometimes you can find out so much about a person by just watching them. There’s one sequence where a hopped-up Bruce goes out on stage dressed in only a raincoat and one sock that is sad and unsettling. Filmed in one long shot, the sequence clearly displays the depths to which Bruce has fallen and it doesn’t let us look away. The awkward laughs from an audience that came to laugh, but are instead shocked, are heartbreaking. It’s the best film I’ve seen about stand-up comedy and one of the best about any actor or performer. It’s a sad and powerful film — top-notch in every way.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
