Hi, Mom! **** (1970, Robert De Niro, Charles Durning, Allen Garfield) – Classic Movie Review 5376

Writer-director Brian De Palma’s 1970 black comedy is a sequel to his 1968 Greetings, with Robert De Niro starring again, reprising his character of Jon Rubin as a Vietnam vet and maker of porn movies, who places cameras at his window and films his neighbours.

Palma’s movie is a raggedly made, but an always interesting, sometimes funny, anarchic satire on Sixties dropouts and other movies.

Certainly it is funnier and more successful than Greetings, though perhaps the director and actors make the mistake of appearing over-eager to make an impression.

This career-boosting item brought De Palma and De Niro the kind of attention and some respectful reviews in the US they needed early in their careers.

Also in the cast are Charles Durning as Superintendent, Allen Garfield as Joe Banner, Abraham Goren as Pervert, Lara Parker as Jeannie Mitchell, Jennifer Salt as Judy Bishop, Bruce Price as Jimmy Mitchell, Ricky Parker as Ricky Mitchell, Andy Parker as Andy Mitchell, Paul Bartel as Uncle Tom Wood, Gerrit Graham as Gerrit Wood, Floyd L. Peterson as John Winnicove, Paul Hirsch as Avery Gunnz and Joseph King as Dr Joe King.

Gerrit Graham paints his entire body for the Be Black, Baby sequence performance (a black radical group invite WASPs to feel what it is like to be black), but the painting of his penis was deleted to get an R rating.

Salt and Durning worked with DePalma on Sisters.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5376

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