Lenny (1974)

I love this movie so much

Absolutely Fantastic

A different way of telling a story

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I never got to see Lenny Bruce perform. Apparently, he broke the mold when it came to political and social commentary. He was down and dirty with social mores. But under all that was a depressed fragile man, a drug user, an alcoholic. He had trouble relating to his audiences and yet they adored him. So he was willing to put it out there while he lived in darkness. Dustin Hoffmann's performance is without peer. He manages to get the edginess into his delivery and be that person. The black and white allows us to not be distracted by colors that would take away our sensations. We follow Lenny Bruce as he fights for sanity amid a world where he has trouble seeing the upside.

"Lenny" is a movie better appreciated than enjoyed, much in the same class as "The Unforgiven," "Taxi Driver," and "Bad Lieutenant." Dustin Hoffman, as one might expect, literally crawls into Lenny Bruce's skin in portraying the groundbreaking but fatally flawed comedian/social critic's short, tumultuous life. What is an unexpected surprise is Valerie Perrine's stunning performance as Bruce's unstable wife, Honey Harlow. Those who are more familiar with Perrine's performances as glorified eye candy will be blindsided by her acting chops as demonstrated here.The use of black-and-white film captures the bleak mood of the film, which strains under the pressure of persuading viewers to follow two unlikable characters for two hours. While Bruce may have been brave and visionary in breaking down taboos at the time, this film correctly avoids making him a completely sympathetic figure.Despite the great acting performances, the film's quasi-documentary approach leads to a disjointed narrative that is more distracting than effective. "Interviews" with the actual relatives and colleagues of Bruce rather than actors portraying them - still possible when the film was made in 1974 - would have been more convincing in laying out Bruce's intentions and persona.Bottom line is that this film is worth watching, though one will leave depressed. Bob Fosse's approach to portraying Bruce's career will be appreciated by some more than others, but if he was attempting to make the audience bemoan Bruce's John Belushi-style exit from life, he failed with this viewer.

This is a movie of a stand-up comedian, Lenny Bruce.Lenny was a Jewish comic, who found love from a "Shiksa goddess", a stripper named Honey.Lenny's act consisted of some questionable material, something not approved by conservative citizens.He found himself often in the courtroom.And then he found drugs with Honey.Along came marital problems and an early death.Lenny (1974) is a Bob Fosse film.The screenplay is by Julian Barry, and it's based on his play by the same name.Dustin Hoffman portrays brilliantly the main character.He probably does a better job than Lenny ever did.Valerie Perrine is amazing as Honey Bruce.Jan Miner is very good as the mother Sally Marr.Stanley Beck is great as Artie Silver.Gary Morton does terrific job as Sherman Hart.I saw Lenny a week ago in a movie theater, for free.I liked the experience.This movie is pretty dramatic, being a movie of a comedian.One of the most memorable moments is when Lenny does an act on dope, wearing a raincoat.That scene shows in a brilliant way the fall of a comedian.And it actually happened.Before seeing this movie I knew very little of this guy.So it's a great introduction to the phenomenon called Lenny Bruce.

As a fan of Lenny Bruce since first seeing him on Steve Allen's TV comedy series sometime around 1959, never the less this quick review is NOT a long sycophantic tribute to Lenny himself - just a quick comment on the film.Very good screenplay, excellent b&w photography & direction, and some really good-to-outstanding acting by all the players, including Dustin Hoffman in the title role.That being said, I'm tempted to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen in his vice presidential debate with Dan Quail: in other words, despite Dustin Hoffman's considerable acting talent - he's no Lenny Bruce.Lenny Bruce was a lot of things: satirist, social critic, con man, drug addict, entertainer, etc - but above all he was incredibly funny. Sadly, Dustin Hoffman in this film, is rarely if ever funny. His timing and delivery is so slow and unprofessional compared to Lenny's, I almost cringe these days whenever I try to watch this film, especially during the on-stage comedy segments.This is not a knock on Hoffman, and I am a big Dustin Hoffman fan. In fairness, if you've ever seen any of Lenny's short films, it's fair to say when it comes to acting, Lenny was certainly no Dustin Hoffman either. And in additional fairness to Mr. Hoffman, maybe Fosse directed him to deliver his comedy lines at this "un-Lenny-like" almost deliberate tempo (unlikely IMO - someone as talented, independent and downright headstrong as Hoffman probably would have worn Fosse down if this was the case).And I still recommend the film highly and have watched it many times. It's a damn good film - well acted, well-written, and photographed & edited so beautifully.Want to see and hear the REAL Lenny Bruce, not in sad decline like some of the 1965 Basin Street West SF videos on the internet, but in Lenny's prime? Try to get your hands on a copy of or somehow manage to view the excellent and maybe-NEVER-to-be-released (music copyright issues?) documentary by Robert Weide: "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth"and you'll see what I mean.Lenny may have been a lot of the things portrayed in Fosse's treatment, but most of all, like the last line and unlike Hoffman's on-stage portrayal in this film,Lenny was "just so damn funny."