Simon's Movie Reviews

The Graduate (1967) is a very interesting movie to revisit in this day and age. It is still funny, sexy and thought provoking, but you have to wonder if it could be made today. Many young men can probably still identify with the main character’s feelings of confusion as he embarks on a new chapter in his life, however his love life is rather problematic. I think it’s fair to say if the gender roles were reversed this would be a completely different movie. However the movie Mike Nichols did end up directing is considered a classic by many people. I agree with this because in my opinion a movie becomes a classic when it is repeatedly referenced in popular culture. For one thing it helped popularize the Simon & Garfunkel song Mrs. Robinson, which itself ended up in the Forrest Gump soundtrack decades later. The movie also has its fair share of iconic scenes that were parodied throughout the years in movies like Wayne’s World and even an episode of Animaniacs . Then of course t...

They say to understand someone else you should try to walk a mile in their shoes. With Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie (1982) Dustin Hoffman got to get a glimpse of what women in the acting industry go through by playing an actor who pretends to be a woman in order to get a role and of course a good paycheck. Given what we know today about the gender pay gap between men and women in Hollywood, this makes the whole premise of Toostsie even funnier in an ironic way. The concept of men pretending to be women has of course been a premise for many comedies, some crude ( White Chicks ) and some classics ( Some Like it Hot ). One of the first movies I saw in that sub-genre was Mrs. Doubtfire , which some people felt was ridding on the coattails of Tootsie . When I got to watch Tootsie a few years ago when it was playing on TV I sort of understood that point given the similarities in plot. However Pollack’s film has a lot more interesting things to say, some about working actors, and many abou...

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For better or for worse, “Rain Man” is the film that introduced autism to pop culture. Dustin Hoffman’s dedicated performance as Raymond Babbitt, an idiot savant, has been referenced in television shows, movies, and even a Ricky Gervais monologue. The performance earned him an Academy Award, but special mention should also go to Tom Cruise for playing a character that begins as a greedy opportunist and evolves into a caring individual. It seems unlikely Hoffman and Cruise could play brothers, but the scene in Las Vegas when they dance together greatly helps to suspend your disbelief. This movie was a rental from about seven years ago at my mom’s suggestion. She had seen it; I am guessing back when it first came out in 1988, and fondly described the story and Hoffman’s performance.  I guess anybody who was alive in the 80s saw that performance as part of that era’s pop culture. Since I was born in the 80s and didn’t exactly feel like watching that movie when I was tw...