The Several Words You Still Can't Say on Television

Lenny Starring: Dustin Hoffman Director: Bob Fossee Similar Films: Totally Bill Hicks, Goodfellas, The People vs. Larry Flynt Adventurous: !!!! (Language, Drug Use, Sexuality) Rating: *** ½ Where you can find it: Adventurous Video Stores, Bongo, 4-Star Video Heaven As a big fan of stand-up, I have always been curious about Lenny Bruce, the dark horse of comedy who injected himself to death. From listening to my George Carlin albums, I gather that Lenny Bruce was the real inspiration behind much of Carlin’s social commentary. And Bill Hicks, whose JFK routine and other dark material function as companion pieces to Lenny’s work, was often compared to Bruce (Brett Butler compared the two, most notably, in the documentary Totally Bill Hicks). After attempting several times in vain to listen to his albums, I stopped trying to understand Lenny’s material. His fast-paced New York accent, mingled with the poor recording instruments of the day, made the first half of his jokes so difficult to hear, that the other half left me hanging in confusion. So I gave up on Lenny Bruce, until I wandered by this film at the video store. Directed by Bob Fosse (Cabaret, All That Jazz), Lenny is a film that any stand-up fan should see. In Lenny, Dustin Hoffman plays Lenny Bruce, one of the most influential stand-up comedians of the 20th century. The film shows Bruce’s rise from doing small-time gigs in New York, to shows at the Copa Cabana, and finally his full transformation to stand-up legend. Lenny Bruce started doing comedy when he was 12 years old, opening for his mother’s own stand-up act. From that point, he developed his skills and eventually became an emcee at the Copa. After meeting and marrying the lovely stripper, Honey (Valerie Perrine), Bruce learned to embrace the underbelly of the profession he was born to rule. Navigating the troubled show business waters, Lenny learned that his voice could be both funny and socially conscious. He achieved this first by leaving the straight-edge scene he had tried to conquer as young man. Over time, Lenny and Honey became heroin addicts, and Honey spent a few years in jail for narcotics possession. In his final years, Lenny was arrested many times for obscenity (his most famous bits were “Tits and Ass” and “Cocksucker”), and used up the money he earned as an underground sensation to pay for the appeals lawyers who fought to keep him out of jail. On August 3, 1966, facing jail time for his various indiscretions, Lenny overdosed on heroin in his Hollywood home. He was 40 years old. As I popped the DVD into my player, my first thought before the film had even begun was: It would be neat to do a documentary style for this, instead of a simple biopic. It would be neat if they interviewed actors playing the characters in his life, the influences and the people who knew his idiosyncrasies the best. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is exactly the kind of film Fosse decided to make. The main interviewees are his wife Honey, his mother, and his agent. Each of them gives a perspective on what made Lenny Bruce such an influential character. Through his agent, we see Bruce as an irreverent misfit, incapable of being molded in society’s image. Bruce’s agent was perpetually insinuating himself in the comedian’s affairs, at one point attempting to deep-six his love for Honey. Through is mother we see Bruce as a big child, one who was never allowed to properly mature in the ways that others mature. He was a 9th grade dropout, and had lived his entire life in show business. Through his wife, we see the innocence and love of a teenager. Although he and Honey divorced in 1957, Lenny Bruce remained in love with her until his death. Their interactions as husband and wife inspired many of his groundbreaking jokes about cheating, jealousy, and sexual frustration. Together, the three perspectives give us a thorough sketch of the most effusively obscene comic of the 1960’s. Interesting Tidbit: Clarence Thomas played a New York appeals lawyer who first appears near the end of the movie. He can be seen drinking a soda with a hair hanging off of it, as he talks to Lenny in the bathroom. This scene was cited several times in his confirmation hearings, and ultimately led to his approval. To quote Sen. Ted Kennedy, “Anyone who did a film on Lenny Bruce is OK in my book. Now pass tha bone, Strom. Cannonball it. Cannonball it!” Dustin Hoffman was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar in 1974. The film itself received 6 nominations. At first, one might discount the movie as a second-rate picture because it didn’t win any awards. One should remember, however, that in 1974 the nominees included: The Towering Inferno, The Conversation, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Chinatown, and The Godfather: Part II. For heaven’s sake, who would expect to get an award against that lineup? I’ll give Dustin Hoffman props for his impression of Lenny. There is one scene toward the end where Hoffman does 5 minutes of uncut Lenny Bruce material, as if he were on heroin. This, in itself, is a real treat. My only criticism of Hoffman’s performance is that his accent wasn’t New York enough. But that can hardly be his fault; he’s a west-coast man. Although Lenny Bruce is considered to be the top comic of his generation, it is not his jokes that he will be remembered for; Lenny makes sure to point that out. More so, Bruce’s legacy remains his tireless fight for first amendment rights. It is stated during and at the end of the film that the things Lenny said in the 60’s are considered normal now. Thankfully, many comedians acknowledge his contribution to freedom of speech. And as a bitter-sweet endnote, New York Governor George Pataki granted Lenny Bruce a posthumous pardon in 2003 for a gig he did in the Big Apple. Pataki considered this "...a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the [First Amendment]. [Freedom Of Speech] is one of the greatest American liberties, and I hope this pardon serves as a reminder of the precious freedoms we are fighting to preserve as we continue to wage the war on terror.''