KRAMER VS. KRAMER!

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I'm adding this "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" feature from the road, so bear with me for posting later than usual.

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While wrenching, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep give outstanding performances here in a movie based on the novel by Avery Corman about an advertising executive husband (Hoffman) whose wife (Streep) is slipping deeper and deeper into feeling emotionally insignificant. Blind to her need to find her identity and gain some stability, the wife leaves behind her husband and son (Justin Henry) and disappears to get some professional help, while the husband is suddenly dealing with multiple shock waves of not seeing this crisis coming, the intense demands of his career and finding himself in unfamiliar territory--caring for a son alone. A subsequent courtroom battle ensues when the wife returns after 18 months seeking custody. Here's an Excellent Cast: Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer; Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer; Jane Alexander as Margaret Phleps; Justin Henry as Billy Kramer; Howard Duff as John Shaunessy; JoBeth Williams as Phyllis Bernard; DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY: Robert Benton (who offered Hoffman a shared screenplay credit, as Hoffman was newly divorced and brought forward the emotional authenticity to this film, but Hoffman declined); CINEMATOGRAPHY: Nestor Almendros; EDITING: Gerald B. Greenberg. PRODUCER: Stanley Jaffe. Jane Alexander as Streep's neighbor and gal-pal, Jo Beth Williams' cameo scene will bring a smile! Also we have the late Character Actor Howard Duff as Hoffman's defense attorney whose mere presence reminds me what a real actor is--quite apart from much of today's fare. This is a story of one man dealing with his world coming apart at the seems while trying to desperately hold it all together. Anyone who has ever found themselves looking for work will relate to Hoffman's desperate job hunt during the Christmas Holidays forcing a brutal industry to recognize his abilities. A damn good film that still holds up.

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Academy Awards, 1979: BEST ACTOR: (Dustin Hoffman), BEST ADAPTATION TO A SCREENPLAY: BEST DIRECTOR: (Robert Benton), BEST PICTURE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Meryl Streep).

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ENJOY!