The very next year saw a return to incredible mainstream success with Kramer vs. Kramer (1979 - Robert Benton). As one of the first films to deal with the expanding issue of divorce in America, it seems more than a bit silly that the mother is cast as the irresponsible heavy and daddy the triumphant and sensitive hero, but this is a Hollywood film, and who do you think runs the place (especially in 1979) but a bunch of divorced men.
In compiling my top 100 films list I'm going through some of these old threads.
Little Big Man makes the cut for me, and
The Graduate,
Straw Dogs,
Midnight Cowboy, all come close, but don't make the cut.
I recently watched
Straight Time on Netflix instant and agree with you that it's an amazing performance.
However, I have mentioned this to you before at Moviejustice, but I'm going to call you out here as well. Normally I agree with a lot of your opinions and even when I disagree with you I still can understand your point of view.
I'm surprised that someone as intelligent, well read, and who has seen as many movies would take issue with
Kramer vs Kramer. It also surprised me that you call something as non-cliche' as the father being the responsible one as silly.
You can cite more films than I can, but I think Hollywood has beat to death the idea of the mother as the loving nurturing one with the father being absent, a dead beat, or whatever. It's been done a million times... from
Mildred Pierce to
Mrs. Doubtfire to
Family Man. Those are three movies that come to the top of my head.
The fact is, whether you acknowledge it or not, many MANY of the parents who are most responsible and caring are fathers. Regardless of how our court system tends to give custody to the mother in these situations, there are plenty of wonderful single dads. I think it's a testament to the film that it shows the other side of the coin and plays to the situation that's in the minority.
Antecdotal evidence here, but I come from a divorced family and my mother went to college and really didn't want the hassle of raising me as her child. I don't blame her for that and as an adult am OK with her now. However it was my father, much like the father in the film, who looked for jobs and supported me - at times with very little income.
This is one reason why I take issue with your critique on the film and even though you're one of the most intelligent film-goers I've met - online or in person, I find it shocking that your opinion on
Kramer vs. Kramer is entirely uniformed, naive, and group-think.
SO yes, I'll call you out on this one.
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