Pretty Good

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Disappointing Continuation

When it was first released, the subject matter of Kramer Vs. Kramer was not as commonplace as it is today, and so there was some shock value in it. As a viewer today, since something like fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, that shock, small as it was, has now completely disappeared. Maybe that's lost the film a sliver of its power, but, there is still enough here to make it compelling. The performances of Hoffman and Streep are utterly brilliant, conveying comprehensively the raw emotion involved in such a set of circumstances, and Justin Henry is outstanding as Billy. This is a tearjerker, but the tears come organically as a result of the story being told, and it never feels mawkish or manipulative in any way. So many films like this have resorted to sentimentality and to taking sides, but Kramer Vs. Kramer doesn't do that. It just uses a careful script, enhanced by deft direction, performed by truly great actors, to tell an honest and affecting story. If you haven't seen it, firstly, where have you been? And secondly, search it out and was it. It's pretty wonderful.

l watched the first part of this movie in 1987 and turn off the TV after around 30 minutes...too much talking,in fact drama wasn't my favorite kind of movie at all...but now as collector l must to have this movie in my racks So l decided to watch it one more time and today the movie sounds me really fantastic...this kind of drama is always a heavy matters to put on screen mainly when the woman left the house having the kid behind,when the remorse mother appear asking the kid back the case end up in a court house a powerful drama indeed,however l think that Apocalypse Now is more superior than Kramer vs. Kramer and deserved won the Oscar but who cares...the movie is really good but l find it overrated even Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep having a great performance.

Satisfied to have finally seen this film, some 37 years after it first came out. Viewing the film fills in a gap of my pop-cultural understanding at least. The content, however, is extremely dated, reflecting the fact that it is a product of its time. Not at all surprising to hear that the film was based on a reactionary, anti- feminist, quasi-misogynist novel, which is made manifest by the total subordination of Streep's Joanna to Hoffman's Ted. Don't be fooled by the false hype of two great actors going head-to-head. The very, very young Streep is hardly in the film at all, and the character Joanna's motivations are only thinly alluded to, never fully explained. This is strictly a vehicle for Hoffman to project as hot-shot advertising executive transitioning into a put-upon father. For his part, with the exception of Marathon Man and Tootsie, Hoffman never fails to remind me how much I'd really rather be watching Al Pacino in the same role. The supposedly climactic court scene is so cheesily melodramatic and utterly false. that it can only be viewed as some misogynist wet dream, complete with ridiculous shouting and badgering by conspicuously male divorce lawyers. Joanna's speech, supposedly penned in a fit of brilliance by Streep herself, is cringe-inducingly nebulous. Streep can be forgiven, she was only 27. The director/"screedwriter" Robert Benton shouldn't be let off so easily, however. In the end, this is fairly typical 70s schlock that turned out to be quite profitable. Good for the business of "movies", bad for the art of cinema. My curiosity was more killed than satisfied.

Ted Kramer is a man who is spending his whole time working although he has wife Joanna, and a child Billy. Joanna takes care of little Billy, and do housework. However, she wants to get a job actually, and decides to go somewhere alone. Suddenly, without Joanna, Ted and Billy start to live together. Ted doesn't know a lot of things like how to make French toast. Ted comes to do so many things that he has not done before. It is such a hard work for him, but they are getting closer and closer compared to before. One and a half year passes by, Joanna comes to Billy back. She decides to try a trial. How will they be in the end? The reason why I watched is my friend recommends me to watch. As my friend told me, it is worth watching, because the theme is family. We can understand the story easily, because it is related to every person. After I watch it, I come to think what the important thing it is, and if I were in the same situation as Billy, what I would think and feel. I want to recommend this to my friend too.