YES, PEOPLE RANT ABOUT IT FOR A REASON! I GIVE YOU "RAIN MAN"

Now, come on you know this film… I mean, I was “re-visiting” the other day and it occurred to me; even if you don’t know the film you surely know its soundtrack… So many of the songs from the soundtrack are famous now in their own right and completely independent from the film! And I’m SURE you have all heard some variation of the phrase “Dustin Hoffman was BRILIIANT in Rain Man”. You may even be slightly jaded by the phrase – understandably. The fact that he actually won an Oscar ® for the performance however, should make y’all reconsider. A blast from the past (one doesn’t get more 80’s than 1988!) with multiple awards, world class acting, a VERY young Tom Cruise and a wonderfully touching story, what more do you want… I mean, really…
Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise. He’s good in the film and a good actor but apart from Interview With A Vampire I somehow never warmed to him… He IS good looking but… I don’t know… Anyway, moving on…) is a car salesman. He is driven, egoistic and interested in no one and nothing except himself and his own well-being. Even his girlfriend is more of an ornament than a companion. His bugbear is his father, they never got on and they haven’t spoken for decades. Then, his father dies. And leaves his fortune to a mysterious “trustee”. After some digging Charlie finds out that he actually has a brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). A brother he neither remembers meeting nor has heard of before. But the real sting as far is Charlie is concerned is the fact that his brother is actually a high-functioning autistic with no concept of or use for money… In desperation Charlie “kidnaps” his older brother and starts bargaining with the authorities. Half the money or they don’t get Raymond back. However, as the two brothers spend time together, Raymond, as maddening and unable to communicate as he may seem, starts “getting through” to Charlie… However, will this be enough to turn him into a “human being”?
You may think that the saga of the great capitalist who grows a heart and conscience has now grown rather old. But the thing you have to remember is that when Barry Levinson (director of Sleepers who also won an Oscar® for this film) shot it, the saga was still quite fresh. The “yuppies” had just been born and quite apart from a touching movie, there is criticisms of this err… Institution? You may say “Oh but that was in the 80’s”, well, yes, but are we so different from the yuppies now? Are we, in fact, still yuppies? Consumerism, capitalism they are both still going strong, it’s good to see “the other side” from time to time, even if Besides, forget about the rest, the film is WELL worth watching for Dustin Hoffman’s sake alone… No wonder his performance in this film keeps coming back to “haunt” us, it’s just such great acting, how can you not want to talk about it! And besides, shall I tell you something else? Charlie’s transformation (that’s hardly a spoiler come on now…), long lost brothers reuniting and a plethora of other subtle touches throughout the film simply tug at everything in us that cherishes soppiness… You’ll love it. And you’ll rant about it. Stop resisting and join the club =)