L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz

I always wanted to see this film ever since it was released when I was in college, but just never got around to it. Just watched it now in 2018 and not disappointed. Dreyfuss really was the perfect Duddy Kravitz. Many of his subsequent roles had a "little bit of Duddy" in them. The viewer can both cheer for Duddy and also be repulsed by him, the mark of a good screenplay, script and actors. Warden, Wiseman and Lanctot lend realism to the tale and provide the other prisms through which to view Kravitz. Both a story and a character study it can be tough to watch, even if occasionally softened by touches of humor. By the end we're left to wonder if it was all worth it and we sense that Duddy is wondering the same thing.

Critically-lauded, but gloppy-looking, abrasive coming-of-age story about a Jewish kid in 1940's Montreal who hustles his way out of the ghetto. Richard Dreyfuss snuck this in between "American Graffitti" and "Jaws", but his performance is one-note and not very appealing (the film did poor business, and when it premiered on HBO, after Dreyfuss attained success, no one knew where the picture came from). Supporting cast (Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, and Denholm Elliott among them) fair a bit better, but director Ted Kotcheff seems more interested in creating a realistically squalid atmosphere rather than concentrating on building reasonably enjoyable characters. Screenplay by Mordecai Richler, from his own novel, sets up the pieces but provides very little pay-off. *1/2 from ****

A Canadian film that isn't a joke. Wow. 'The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz' is a wonderful thing. Let's start with the novel. I read it as part of an English Lit class in High School and read it every autumn for seven years. It just goes so well with those first few blustery nights that arrive mid-October. Always tough for a screenplay to match up with a novel but novelist Mordecai Richler and Lionel Chetwynd were nominated for Academy Awards and lost to 'The Godfather Part 2's Coppola and Puzo - not bad. Wonderful to watch - just look at all the great street scenes, the country scenes, the autumn leaves, Duddy's well-lit apartment, Moe's Cigar Store...I mean, this is Canada keeping warm and cozy on a cool, October evening. The film, and the novel, are great to curl up with.

Am I a jerk or what? I loved Duddy Kravitz. Even though he's a back stabbing, robbing crook of a shmuck, who has every right to be despised, I wound up rooting for him anyways. Do I feel guilty? Absolutely not! And here's why. Richard Dreyfuss.

Based on Mordechai Richler's novel about growing up in 1950's Montreal. He's got the world coming to him. Well, at least he thinks he does. Quick to take advantage of every opportunity thrown at him, sometimes he gets way over his head, but that doesn't let him down for long, for soon he's after his next big score. Whether it be independent movies. Pinball, or a giant lakeside property.

My god, Richard Dreyfuss is the heart and soul of this movie. I am clearly lacking any idea of who else could have pulled this performance off so flawlessly. The supporting cast, including Micheline Lanctôt, Jack Warden, and, in a stunning performance, Randy Quaid, are all great. But Dreyfuss just steamrolls over them, literally and figuratively.

"A little bit of Duddy Kravitz in everyone," so the poster tells us. Yeah, I guess you could say that, although it is exaggerated in the film to get the message across (either that, or I haven't met anyone like that yet.) Dreyfuss' character is believable, and so is his father. I would have to say the only wooden character in the whole film is that of Lenny, Duddy's brother. There is a good message to get from the film--if you watch it, you won't be disappointed.