I'm surprised to realize I have barely heard of this movie. The only mention of it I can remember is of a very stupid comic strip that featured Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man hitting Forrest Gump with his Oscar, followed by Gump hitting him back and ending up with the handicapped guy from My Left Foot running over them with his wheelchair, Oscar in hand. I know, I read weird stuff. But anyway, knowing that both Forrest Gump and My Left Foot were good movies, I decided to add this one to the list. And I'm glad I read that strip.
Tom Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, a self-centered yuppie. He finds out his father, with whom he has not been in touch for years, is leaving his 3 million dollar inheritance to Charlie's autistic older brother (whose existance is unknown to him), Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman. Charlie goes to Ohio to pick him up and take him to his lawyers in Los Angeles, but Raymond refuses to fly on a plane so they both spend most of the movie going to their destination by car. Shenanigans ensue.
The characters are the heart and soul of the movie. Charlie is selfish and just wants to take his brother's custody to cash in, but (you guessed it!) he ends up warming to him. And Hoffman just steals the show. Raymond shows next to no emotions, has plenty of routines he has to follow strictly, goes "Oh, oh" and slaps himself when frustrated or confused... I can't say if this is an accurate portrayal of people with autism but I bought it. His antics are just enjoyable to watch.
This isn't one of them, but am I the only one who laughed, only to feel guilty afterwards?
The dynamic between the two is fantastic. Mostly through Cruise's performance though, since Hoffman just acts like a robot except for a few moments. It's always funny to see Raymond being quirky and Charlie having to deal with it and try to please him. Add in stuff like Charlie's girlfriend leaving him because of his attitude, his reflection on how we deserted his family, Raymond's aparent savantism, and you have a very good character-driven film.
I know the odd couple and on-the-road themes have been done to death, but still, this movie prefectly blends both into a great film. The conclusion is very good, it can be very funny at times, the characters grow into you... Just very good.
Dustin Hoffman staring at the horizon. Turns out, you can totally watch that for two hours.
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