That Movie Clip Wednesday matron of honor, Boxer is going for two in a row as the Alistair Cooke of Masterpiece Movie Clip Theater. This MCW Meme has everyone picking a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme while trying to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is MOST OVERRATED OSCAR WINNER. Now I've said it before. Any time we have a most overrated or worst of category, it's tough to pick and tough to watch. But I think you need to have them (every now and then) so you can discern the good from the bad.
That being said, for this theme, I decided to just look at Best Picture Oscars figuring that would be narrow enough for a selection. I was right, of course, but I did wade through a bunch of really good titles to settle on a not so good one. And what set my selection apart was the other films this particular film won over. The year was 1979 and the other nominees were All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away and Norma Rae. What movie could possibly do that (especially Apocalypse Now)? That would be that yawn of a divorce movie, Kramer vs Kramer.
I know it has two heavy hitter leads in Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, but I was bored to tears by this thing. The endless droning about "not being fulfilled" and "I should have custody of the kid" and "I'm a single father". This is like watching a Lifetime chick flick (the Mrs makes me do that sometimes). This was followed up by the 1981 Best Picture Ordinary People followed by 1982's Watching Paint Dry. I was there in the early 80s and I don't remember it being this boring. Beleive it or not, the first cut of this movie was 43 minutes longer than the final cut. That would have made it 2 1/2 hours long!
So I mercifully found a 2 minute clip to illustr....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
OK, I came too. Wouldn't it be funny if everyone picked this movie? No, I didn't think so. Head on over to Boxer's and maybe someone will pick something we can argue about, because I sure didn't.
12 comments:
Never saw it. Could tell it was a stupid movie and a yawner from the get go and it is more than worthy of your choice. Speaking of choice, you'll have some choice words for me when you stop over. hahahaha
I remember seeing this -and i thought it was okay. Meryl streep plays a stone cold killer in this but in the end i believe she becomes a real human being. I dont know. It won the oscar, huh? Hollywood loves causes. hardly ever does sheer entertainment make it. They love:
diseases
political prisoners
pretty women who play ugly ones
preaching
I hate hollywood! Happy MCW
my entry is here
Whine, whine, whine, scream, cry, whine, blah, blah, blah, therapy, blah. Whine. Resign.
Shows how times have changed, this movie made a big deal out of a father actually take care of his kids while his work driven wife ignored him and the kids. Pffffft. I remember seeing this and while I didn't hate it, I didn't like M.Streep's character being so one dimensional. So a man has to take a less paying job? He runs through traffic to take care of a sick kid? Join the club with every working woman at that time. bwahahahahaha. I like how you reasoned your choices and thanks for playing this week. I figured you were stuck in your lazy boy getting one more day before the wife returns. :-)
We came as close to Blog-Jynx as is humanly possible. Didn't realize that another Oprah Episode preceded Ordinary People as Oscar Winner.
Hey Buzz.
I could never force myself to watch it for exactly those reasons. Funnily enough, I'm now definitely not going to watch it after your review.
What Moi said. ( I got another whiner up at mah place--reckon whiny is first requirement for overrated )
After Graduate, Dustin was never at the top pf mah lists. Then that trans dressing movie he did made it worse--I doan see no Hoffman movies EXCEPT Rainman which I would watch again--and have.
Happy MCW!
Madman
You know I'm a Clint fan but he's made some really bad movies. Bronco Billy Every Which Way But Loose to name two. Unforgiven was meh but way better than Kramer vs Kramer. You're not missing anything.
Chicky
Or mental retardation or hobits or boxers. What? Bwahahaha
Moi
Nice recap. You truely have a way with words.
Boxer
I guess my other problem with this movie (besides the bordom) is that it didn't age well. Yeah, back in the 80s single parents and career women weren't the norm. It's a brave new world there Meryl.
Beleive it or not, the Mrs not being here is way more work for me. The only plus is the food.
Troll
Truely a boring few years for the cinema in the 80s. And it took Oliver Stone (of all directors) to bring us out of it with Platoon.
Roses
I'm sure this movie is even worse when viewed through English eyes. What a buch of sniveling, whiny Americans. Boohoo we're getting a divorce. Woe is me I want a career. You're not missing anything.
Aunty
Hoffman, for being as big as he is, really hasn't done many good movies. The only other one I liked was Little Big Man.
Hey, in 1979 I knew I was headed toward my own episode of this and there was no way I was ever going to watch this. Still haven't. Don't intend to. Ain't gonna ever. And I got nothing this week.
I'll give Hoffman The Graduate and Rainman, but that's it. Little Big Man was great only because of Chief Dan George; and the abso-frickin-lootly brilliant Marathon Man was only so because of Olivier and Roy (too late to return my calls) Scheider and all-too-often underrated Marthe Keller.
Pam
I guess the movie would watch differently if you go through a divorce. Probably funnier.
Moi
Little Big Man was an excellent story and I thought Hoffman did a fair job. He was like a slightly less-retarded Forrest Gump.
Hear Hear... someone that finally recognizes this howler for what it was...
@Boxer... Meryl has more than one dimension? that is news!
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