Re-cember #8: Kramer vs. Kramer
(Re-cember, when, in the month of December I rewatch movies I haven't seen in a long time)
Kramer vs. Kramer, (not not the hipster doofus of Seinfeld battling his clone) a 1979 film starring Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman and the adorable Justin Henry, who a few years later played Molly Ringwald's obnoxious little brother in 16 Candles, about a divorced couple in a custody battle over their child.
I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. I must have been about 10, wow. Not exactly a kid's movie but I liked it then and although it is kind of dated, it was still a good movie. Back in the 70s, divorce was not such an everyday thing and I remember it being spelled out (like that Tammy Wynette song) in my presence when discussed by adults. Funny, that.
This story though explored the relationship between a previously career-oriented, too-busy-to-be-bothered father and his 6 year old son after the mother leaves and subsequently come back after 'finding herself' in California. But the movie is sympathetic to both sides. Neither is the villain, both are imperfect human beings who love their child and try to do what they think is right.
It's strange rewatching movies I haven't seen in that long because I don't really remember them too well, but I know I've seen it so it is still somewhat familiar, and there may be some nostalgia that comes into play so I don't know how I'd feel about it if I had just watched it for the first time. But that said, I give it 3.5 stuft stars out of 5.













