Hi, Mom (15.)
Starring Robert De Niro, Jennifer Salt, Allen Garfield, Gerrit Graham, Rutanya Alda and Charles Durning. 87 mins.
This sequel was originally going to be called Son Of Greetings so we have some executive to thank for blocking that and forcing them to come up with a vastly superior name. (Spoiler, it comes from the film's final line though De Niro actually says “Hi, Ma.”) Whenever anyone talks about this film they always go on about the Be Black Baby sequence midway through about an experimental theatre performance in which a group of white liberals have their faces painted black and are abused by a group black radicals. Shot in black and white, in a documentary cine-verite style with handheld cameras it is a shockingly effective sequence. It is oddly reminiscent of Blair Witch Project and horribly transgressive, almost like watching a snuff movie.
It is definitely memorable but has come to overshadow the rest of the film (its Wikipedia entry is all about that sequence and barely mentions anything else about the film) which is a terrible injustice. Greetings may be dark but it is a larky sixties darkness. Hi, Mom is seventies dark. The first part sees De Niro's character, Joe Rubin, just back from 'Nam continuing his Peep Art project, beginning with him renting a really crummy apartment from slum landlord Charles Durning just because it has a magnificent view of all the large windows in the tower block opposite. He then persuades pornopreneur Garfield, (reprising his role from Greetings) to back his efforts to capture "private moments." Halfway through he gives up on that and becomes interested in domestic terrorism.
The film doesn't have any of De Palma's visual trademark, long tracking shots, split screens etc, but it looks remarkable slick for a low budget piece. Like all the other films here it has some great music, composed by Eric Kaz. The style is funkier than Greetings and the title track has stayed in my ear since I first saw it twenty years ago. All the dialogue is improvised, sometimes overly so. The exchanges between Garfield and De Niro are so competitive, so animated that their energy begins to distract from the film and the scenes get bogged down. But mostly the comedy and its freewheeling spirit make this a joy.
Most of all, there is De Niro. He's fine in the other films, but here, right here, you see for the first expression, almost fully formed, of the qualities that would make him such a remarkable screen presence. You can see the seeds of all that was to follow. There is a scene where he auditions to play a cop in Be Black Baby and its you-talking-to-me Travis Bickle. Overall though it is the first demonstration of how he could take centre stage in a film, hold the audience's attention and yet have his character remain a total enigma without the audience feeling shortchanged. He's been a washout for most of the last three decades you can forget he was once something very special. Seeing him young and totally on it, is almost a revelation. This was the start of some rare magic.
Starring Robert De Niro, Jennifer Salt, Allen Garfield, Gerrit Graham, Rutanya Alda and Charles Durning. 87 mins.
This sequel was originally going to be called Son Of Greetings so we have some executive to thank for blocking that and forcing them to come up with a vastly superior name. (Spoiler, it comes from the film's final line though De Niro actually says “Hi, Ma.”) Whenever anyone talks about this film they always go on about the Be Black Baby sequence midway through about an experimental theatre performance in which a group of white liberals have their faces painted black and are abused by a group black radicals. Shot in black and white, in a documentary cine-verite style with handheld cameras it is a shockingly effective sequence. It is oddly reminiscent of Blair Witch Project and horribly transgressive, almost like watching a snuff movie.
It is definitely memorable but has come to overshadow the rest of the film (its Wikipedia entry is all about that sequence and barely mentions anything else about the film) which is a terrible injustice. Greetings may be dark but it is a larky sixties darkness. Hi, Mom is seventies dark. The first part sees De Niro's character, Joe Rubin, just back from 'Nam continuing his Peep Art project, beginning with him renting a really crummy apartment from slum landlord Charles Durning just because it has a magnificent view of all the large windows in the tower block opposite. He then persuades pornopreneur Garfield, (reprising his role from Greetings) to back his efforts to capture "private moments." Halfway through he gives up on that and becomes interested in domestic terrorism.
The film doesn't have any of De Palma's visual trademark, long tracking shots, split screens etc, but it looks remarkable slick for a low budget piece. Like all the other films here it has some great music, composed by Eric Kaz. The style is funkier than Greetings and the title track has stayed in my ear since I first saw it twenty years ago. All the dialogue is improvised, sometimes overly so. The exchanges between Garfield and De Niro are so competitive, so animated that their energy begins to distract from the film and the scenes get bogged down. But mostly the comedy and its freewheeling spirit make this a joy.
Most of all, there is De Niro. He's fine in the other films, but here, right here, you see for the first expression, almost fully formed, of the qualities that would make him such a remarkable screen presence. You can see the seeds of all that was to follow. There is a scene where he auditions to play a cop in Be Black Baby and its you-talking-to-me Travis Bickle. Overall though it is the first demonstration of how he could take centre stage in a film, hold the audience's attention and yet have his character remain a total enigma without the audience feeling shortchanged. He's been a washout for most of the last three decades you can forget he was once something very special. Seeing him young and totally on it, is almost a revelation. This was the start of some rare magic.
