Continuing our look back at seven classic Meryl Streep performances, this 1979 family drama, "Kramer vs. Kramer", won five Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Ms. Streep.
“Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) 5 / 5 stars - This superbly acted Dustin Hoffman/Meryl Streep vehicle is a great American movie about a not-so-great American pastime: divorce.
According to divorcerate.org, 41 percent of all first marriages end in divorce.
Unfortunately, millions and millions of couples - for a variety of reasons - don’t follow through with the words, ‘til death do us part.
For Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep), on one ordinary day, she simply packs up her suitcase and says good-bye to her husband, Ted (Dustin Hoffman), right after he gets home from work.
Joanna explains (later) she lost her self-esteem, was unhappy in their marriage and didn’t feel worthy to mother their son, Billy.
On the day of reckoning - while standing in the elevator - she says to Ted, “He’s (Billy) better off without me, and I don’t love you anymore.”
Ted is in disbelief and denial, but realizes the scope of his (and his son’s) predicament the next morning when Joanna is not beside him in bed.
To complicate matters, on the previous day, he just landed the Mid-Atlantic Airlines account at work. His job promises to consume most hours of his day, everyday, but the next morning, his wife is gone and his son needs breakfast and a walk to school.
In 1979, the Women’s Liberation Movement hadn't reached every American household, so Ted never “needed” to prepare meals before. Preparing breakfast is not one of Ted’s strengths.
Not by a long shot.
He just simply never “needed” to do it before. Suddenly he’s faced with housework and shopping. Billy “helps” by telling him to buy Tide detergent and the “pink stuff” because that’s what Mommy used to buy.
Housework and shopping just scratch the surface of Ted’s new duties: He needs to find time to pick up Billy at school, read bedtime stories, provide discipline, tend to him when he’s sick or hurt, and attend the occasional PTA meeting.
Ted has become the exception to the rule in 1979: He is now a single male parent.
Of course, as one would expect, his parenting skills improve over time. But rather than standard TV-movie of the week cliches, Hoffman brings much more to Ted Kramer. He succumbs to all the emotional stages of loss, but we also feel the mounting pressure of his job and his new piled-on responsibilities at home.
It’s a trifecta of tension that pushes Ted to the limit.
Not only does Hoffman successfully juggle these obstacles, but he captures the loving bond between father and son. And soon, a fourth obstacle of stress becomes the most daunting of all.
The film won the Best Picture Oscar, and Hoffman and Streep won the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars, respectively.
For a majority of the film, due to Ted's struggles, Joanna is portrayed as the villain. Joanna abandoned her child, and left Ted in world of confusion, so we disparage her and sympathize with him.
Although, Streep's performance and the strong writing don't make it so easy.
Streep brings a real humanity to Joanna, and our feelings towards her do change.
She is not the villain we assumed during the film's opening minutes, as Joanna is also a real victim of difficult circumstances, miscommunication and the emotional dissonance of two people.
Back in 1979, this movie sparked dialogue about marriage: equal partnership, roles of fathers/husbands and the women’s movement.
And 32 years later - although hopefully marriage has evolved in positive ways - this film still carries tremendous weight.
“Kramer vs. Kramer” is a must-see American classic.
"Kramer vs. Kramer" is rated-PG for adult situations, language and nudity. It's available on DVD and Blu-ray.
