Moral 1: Do not become Meryl Streep's husband.
Moral 2: Do not make French toast when you're in a rush.
Moral 3: Do not become Dustin Hoffman's son. Maybe.
Despite a "happy" ending, this is a helluva depressing film. A total downer. Lots of parts that were hard to watch -- be it for the awkwardness, the physical pain, or the emotional stress. Shorter Kramer vs. Kramer: Streep leaves Hoffman, an absent-minded workaholic father of a little boy. He grows to bond with the boy, albeit very gradually. Fifteen months later, Streep returns, and sues for custody. She wins, but then has a change of heart.
For such an Oscar beast -- Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Actor, and Screenplay -- I gather that this film isn't unanimously loved. And while I can understand that point-of-view, I disagree. Dustin Hoffman is absolutely phenomenal. The body language in this film is great; there are tons of extended scenes with minimal dialogue that serve to progress the main story arc, Hoffman moving closer to his boy, more than anything else in the film. The little kid is really ugly and annoying and bratty, but that can be overlooked. Streep is a very minor player, but gives a devastating performance in the climactic court room scene, where she gets totally ripped up in the cross-examination.
Mostly, the film is just really well made. There's very little fat on it. It has several nice touches that it uses to give you a peek into Hoffman's ever-altering state as a single parent. And it doesn't portray Streep in the divorce-court-aggressor light that has become such a cliche these days. I gather Kramer vs. Kramer was pretty groundbreaking in its day (1979), in a Benjamin Spock/Revolutionary Road fashion. It still holds up, and it isn't overwrought.
