Hi, Mom!

Long before either Robert DeNiro or Brian DePalma were famous, they teamed for this low budget satire on Urban Life in late 60s NYC. The resulting film was a mixed bag at best, with one truly brilliant sequence - the guerrilla theater piece "Be Black, Baby" - a few clever observations and a fair bit of dead time, where it seems as if nobody came up with much, and it got filmed anyway. DeNiro plays a Vietnam vet who wanders about NYC filming things 'peeping Tom' style, looking for a purpose in life or a personal mission. If this sounds like Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) with a camera rather than a cab, it sure does, but unfortunately, DeNiro has less to do that is cinematically captivating here than in his "Are you talking' to me?" moments as Bickle. The character is less interesting on screen, less well-formed and thus less of a scene-stealer. Plus, DePalma was clearly so enamored of the film- making process that the viewer is supposed to find the voyeuristic act of simply filming stuff to be as orgasmic as the director thinks it is, even when nothing much very interesting is being filmed. I still recommend the movie but urge caution. The good parts here are really good. It would be a better movie, obviously, if there were more of them.

Robert De Niro plays a would-be filmmaker in New York City who is given $2000 by a porno producer to make Peep Art--filming the sexual exploits of his neighbors directly out his apartment window--but action is slow, so he gets to know the woman living across from him by pretending they had a date. Another of De Niro's neighbors, a white stage producer, promotes his show, "Be Black Baby", by stirring up the public with on-the-street commentary on what it's like to be black in America. Audacious early effort from writer-director Brian De Palma, a quasi-follow-up to his "Greetings" from 1968, has some very funny revue-style sequences with tricky staging, although the second-act (with white actors in black-face and black actors in white-face) is too hostile and ugly and shuts down the comedy. The two halves of the picture never really jell, anyway, and one begins to miss the easy, naturally comic dialogue from the opening. ** from ****

'Hi, Mom!' is supposedly a sequel to Brian De Palma's earlier 'Greetings', but the connections are a bit tenuous, even though Robert De Niro once again plays Jon Rubin. Is he the same character? I suppose so, but it's hard to say. Alan Garfield and Gerrit Graham also reappear. Garfield could well be the same guy, he's involved in pornography after all, but Graham is most definitely playing a different person. It's just one of many fascinating things about this unique movie, which is both funnier and darker than 'Greetings'. Rubin is a Vietnam vet who fancies himself a movie director, or maybe this is just an excuse to spy on the occupants of the building opposite. They include Graham, a radical involved in guerrilla theatre and the black power movement (there's a priceless moment where he paints himself black), and the sexy Judy (Jennifer Salt who subsequently co-starred in De Palma's breakthrough thriller 'Sisters'), who he decides to seduce (another classic scene). De Niro is on top form throughout, I really enjoyed his performance. Charles Durning has a hilarious bit at the beginning as the building Super, and cult fave Paul Bartel ('Eating Raoul') can be spotted if you keep your eyes open. The highlight of the movie is the brilliant 'Be Black Baby' sequence, which has to be seen to be believed. De Palma is a talented and versatile director who rarely gets the credit he deserves. Those who simplistically dismiss him as nothing but a Hitchcock rip-off would do well to watch 'Greetings' and 'Hi, Mom!' two of the most original and innovative American movies of the late 60s/early 70s. And Robert De Niro fans just have to see his work in these two movies, and I also recommend they check him out in Roger Corman's 'Bloody Mama' with Shelley Winters and Bruce Dern, and his small role in 'Born To Win' opposite George Segal. These all show that he really had something special going on before he teamed up with Scorsese.

A very young De Niro incorporates his fresh muscles into acting. And he succeeds in an excellent scene, making the cop on his own, fighting the walls and some garbage cans, striking them very convincingly with the cop stick, anticipating somehow the famous "Taxi Driver" scene. A very good Allen Garfield and a very good Lara Parker. Some good music in the soundtrack too.

I liked this movie a lot. Part of what is so good about it is its unique story and style. It seems like so many movies tell the same old boring story over and over again. The ones that end up feeling original usually do so by telling the same old story in a new way. Hi, Mom! succeeds doubly, however, by telling an original story in an original way.

Additionally, a very young Robert De Niro plays the lead role very well, as always. This is a different sort of role than what we're used to seeing him in, but it's nice to see that even so early on in his career he was just as talented as he is today. His character is hilarious, often defies logic and leaves the viewers baffled about his intentions and decisions and wondering if he is a crazy person. The character is fun to watch but would be totally unbelievable in the hands of another actor. De Niro pulls it off!

Director Brian De Palma's inexperience is evident at this point early on in his career, but that's not a bad thing. I think most would agree that it was his later films that turned out to be the real stinkers, and his naiveté is put to good use here as it adds to the film's overall style and originality. The style changes to a documentary feel and then back again. Scenes are comically sped up and colorful intertitles are used sporadically. They at first feel out of place this far away from silent films, but then feel as if they could never have been more right. Just like a child learning to walk, De Palma is unsure what he can and can't do, and he doesn't care! He tries it all, and since he's not afraid to fail he only succeeds that much more. Unconfined by convention, he goes off instinct. The world is his oyster and he makes the most of it with what I consider one of his best films.

My favorite part of the film was the very last shot. I won't spoil it by giving it away, but it is totally unpredictable and unexpected, just like the rest of the film. I got the idea that the filmmakers could very easily have been making things up as they went along and not always following the script, making use of what they had available on their limited budget, which in this case worked out well. And the film's final shot is set up so well, from the camera angle to the colors to the overall setup. Then De Niro's perfect delivery to the perfect line makes it perhaps the greatest ending of any movie I've seen.

But the film is not perfect. Even despite its relatively short running time, it still feels slow at certain moments. It's a fun experience, but not everyone will enjoy it. Some may be frustrated by what could be perceived as nonsensical scenes and a disjointed, unrealistic plot. Some may not understand the film, but my advice to them would be to quit trying so hard. Just sit back and enjoy this fun, wacky movie and take from it whatever you will. It doesn't always make perfect sense or wrap up into a neat little bundle, but no one said it has to.