A Few Good Hoffas
Film reviews by Craig Good
Copyright 1992 Craig Good
This weekend turned into a Jack Nicholson/J. T. Walsh Film Festival for me. I saw HOFFA on Christmas night, and I just got back from seeing A FEW GOOD MEN. If all you want is a horse race, then it's A FEW GOOD MEN by a length.
I'm ambivalent about HOFFA. I'm still impressed with DeVito the director, and all the performances are good. It's obvious that Jaaaack relished his role. The production is well mounted, and the scope is broad. Mamet's dialogue is his usual combination of genius and expletives. But HOFFA faces the same challenge as films such as THE GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS: to make us care about people who are criminals and creeps. The Godfather films all succeeded. For me, GOODFELLAS failed. I put HOFFA somewhere in the middle. I came away with the feeling that I was now fairly knowledgeable about someone who is still somewhat of an enigma.
The film is told in flashbacks and has a mostly chronological structure. The mere chronicling of Jimmy Hoffa's career is almost enough enough structure for a story. Almost. HOFFA isn't so much a story as it is a biography. And while the film didn't try to whitewash the man, I sensed some sort of misplaced admiration for him. Perhaps that was simply the primary symptom of its failure. But it is a good movie, and people who liked BUGSY and GOODFELLAS will probably enjoy it.
I'm happy to report after seeing his latest that Rob Reiner's stunning track record as a director is unsullied. Everybody connected with A FEW GOOD MEN delivers, and nobody disappoints. The performances by Cruise, Moore, and Nicholson reminded me just why they are big name stars. Cruise's disarming performance allows us to watch an intelligent, if at first slothful, character in the process of thinking, and Moore proves that she's not just the pretty girl who can cry on cue. Jack's part in A FEW GOOD MEN is smaller in screen time than in HOFFA, but he practically *is* the third act. This is a solid *story*, and Cruise's character walks away a much different man than the one at the start of the film.
If you still haven't figured out the J. T. Walsh reference, it's because he has supporting roles in both films.
To sum up: If you've a mind to see both films, see them both. If you need to narrow your choices, see A FEW GOOD MEN.
--Craig
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