Cheap Kramer vs. Kramer (DVD) (Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep) (Robert Benton) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Kramer vs. Kramer

Robert Benton's "Kramer vs Kramer" is really a well made, powerful, semi-heart tugging movie. Based on a novel written by Avery Corman, Benton (who wrote the film also) takes a clos look at what happens when a couple gets a divorce when children are involved. "Kramer ect" offers us a twist. Here it is the woman (Meryl Streep) who leaves her husband (Hoffman) and now Hoffman has to raise their 6 year old son by himself. Yes, the film goes for some quirky, funny shots in the beginning, and it's done with some realism, we might expect the characters to behave this way, but then the film goes for more heart.

As much as I enjoyed this film, I do think it's odd that this won the Oscar for best picture. 1979 had some strong movies, "Apocalypse Now", "All That Jazz", and although it wasn't nominated for best picture that year, one of my favorites Woody Allen's "Manhattan". But still "Kramer vs Kramer" was nominated for 9 Oscars, and walked away with 5. Also, something I want to point it is the nominated camerawork by Nestor Almendros, who many know for his work with Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer.

Bottom-line: Heartfelt, powerful and sometimes realistic look at what happens during a divorce. Very good performances by Hoffman and Streep (both won Oscars) and strong directing by Benton.

Excellent performances
This is a very good movie with three extraordinary leading performances. Much has been said about the work of Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry (who plays their son) in this film. 23 years later, these peformances remain great. Everyone knows what powerful actors Hoffman and Streep are at their best. So what really stood out to me was Justin Henry. He is absolutely natural; not a "phony" moment in his performance.

I do wonder if the film would've been even better if Streep's character had been fleshed out a bit more. It's extremely hard to relate to her. We don't see anything particularly bad or intolerable in Hoffman's character, so her abandoning of their son seems unconscionable. She had to go "find herself?" I had no sympathy for her, simply because it seemed she walked away from a loving and devoted husband. I understand he was very busy with work, but he was putting food on their table. When raising kids, sacrifices must be made. Hoffman's character sacrificed most of his leisure time in order to work hard. Based on what we see in the film, Streep's character didn't want to make those kinds of sacrifices.

Anyway, if a movie can spark conversations, or even debates, it must've done something right. The DVD features an insightful 50 minute documentary, loaded with interviews of all the principal participants in this well-made movie.

Cry More vs. Cry More
MAD MAGAZINE named the movie "Cry More Vs.Cry More" for the parody of the film. KRAMER VS. KRAMER is an effective tearjerker with somewhat of an unrealistic ending. The movie is manipulative but somehow manages to be a riveting divorce drama with clearly defined characters to care about. The standout character being young Justin Henry as Billy Kramer. The other issue here is the telling of a single father's trials and tribulations of suddenly taking on the responsibilities of single handedly rearing a child. The film shows the evolution Ted Kramer (Hoffman) with the relationship of his son and the definition of being a father. The film seems to be in two parts. The first being the set up of establishing the relationship of father and son, the second part is when the mother Joanna Kramer(Streep) "finds herself" (remember that catch phrase from the 70's?), has established a career, and decides that she wants her son back. She suddenly appears out of nowhere to get her son back. This is when the movie becomes a cut-throat custody courtroom battle between the Kramer's. Actor Howard Duff is excellent as Ted Kramer's/Hoffman lawyer John Shaunessy. The other standout performance is Jane Alexander as best friend (Margaret Phelps) to both the Kramer's who suddenly finds herself torn between the two sides of the custody battle. Overall, a movie that has captured a moment of time, showing some conventional if not sugarcoated problems of a bitter divorce. The film is notched up a bit because of the casting and oustanding performances of the leads.