{"id":4295,"date":"2007-09-18T11:23:33","date_gmt":"2007-09-18T18:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4295"},"modified":"2021-01-20T17:55:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T00:55:29","slug":"kramer-versus-kramer-1979","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4295","title":{"rendered":"Kramer versus Kramer (1979)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;How much courage does it take to walk out on your kid?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster-192x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-64784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster-192x300.png 192w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster-656x1024.png 656w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster-82x128.png 82w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster-173x270.png 173w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/Kramer-V-Kramer-Poster.png 703w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen his troubled wife (Meryl Streep) walks out on him, a workaholic father (Dustin Hoffman) must learn to care for their 6-year-old son Billy (Justin Henry) on his own. Soon Hoffman discovers the joys of parenthood, but things are complicated when Streep reappears and demands custody of Billy.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Courtroom Drama<\/li>\n<li>Divorce<\/li>\n<li>Father and Child<\/li>\n<li>Meryl Streep Films<\/li>\n<li>Raising Kids<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWhile acknowledging that <em>Kramer vs. Kramer<\/em> (based on Avery Corman&#8217;s real-life-inspired novel) is an &#8220;excellent, thoughtful, humorous, sensitive film with terrific acting and real characters&#8221;, Peary nonetheless expresses some serious reservations in his review, arguing that the film &#8220;ridiculously glorifies Hoffman for doing what so many mothers do as a matter of course&#8221;. I disagree: because <em>Kramer Versus Kramer<\/em> is essentially a character study (we see things almost exclusively from Hoffman&#8217;s point of view), it makes sense that his transformation from self-absorbed workaholic to loving father is shown as a tremendous accomplishment &#8212; for him, it is. With that said, it would certainly be interesting to see the entire story told from Streep&#8217;s perspective; but this would be a different film altogether. <\/p>\n<p>To her credit, Streep (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) manages to convince us that her heinous abandonment of Billy was an act of desperation rather than rationality. Even more impressive, however, is Hoffman, who deservedly won an Oscar as best actor of the year &#8212; he apparently invested an enormous amount of time and energy into his role, essentially co-writing the script with director Robert Benton, and using improvisation whenever possible. The rapport he develops with Henry (an excellent child actor) is wonderfully natural; I love how there&#8217;s <u>never a musical montage<\/u> depicting their life together as &#8220;single males&#8221;. Instead &#8212; in one of the film&#8217;s best sequences &#8212; Benton shows us Billy silently setting out plates and doughnuts for breakfast while he and his dad read their respective &#8220;papers&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-doughnuts.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-doughnuts.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4306\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This type of carefully rendered authenticity permeates the entire narrative, which is often heartbreaking &#8212; and occasionally melodramatic &#8212; but always, fortunately, <em>real<\/em>.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-hoffman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-hoffman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4299\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Justin Henry as Billy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-billy.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-billy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4297\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Meryl Streep as Joanna<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-streep.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-streep.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4300\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jane Alexander as Ted&#8217;s sympathetic neighbor<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-jane.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-jane.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4298\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Nestor Almendros&#8217; cinematography &#8212; particularly the outdoor New York scenes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4302\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The infamous &#8220;ice cream scene&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-ice-cream.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-ice-cream.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4303\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The hilarious &#8220;hallway scene&#8221;, when Billy happens upon his dad&#8217;s naked lover (JoBeth Williams) heading to the bathroom<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-hallway.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-hallway.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4304\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The hectic &#8220;French toast scene&#8221; near the beginning of the film &#8212; and its subdued counterpoint near the end<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-french-toast.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/kvk-french-toast.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4305\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. This moving, well-acted drama remains the best film ever made about a custody battle. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0079417\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/kramer-vs-kramer\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s299kramer.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4665\/kramer-vs-kramer#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How much courage does it take to walk out on your kid?&#8221; Synopsis: When his troubled wife (Meryl Streep) walks out on him, a workaholic father (Dustin Hoffman) must learn to care for their 6-year-old son Billy (Justin Henry) on his own. Soon Hoffman discovers the joys of parenthood, but things are complicated when Streep reappears and demands custody of Billy. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4295"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64787,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4295\/revisions\/64787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}