Irene M
Dustin Hoffman does a good job portraying the character, especially the finger snapping. I hated the very very last scene. I started thinking alot about George Carlin, after it was over.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
07/29/23
Full Review
Georgan G
This movie is a reminder that words are cultural, never "bad" or "obscene." It's been too long for most reading this to remember Lenny Bruce, but he was the 1st to use comedy for social change.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Shioka O
I somehow felt that this is a lengthy when I was watching. Anyways cinematography is amazing, well crafted and just beautiful.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
09/18/22
Full Review
Audience Member
For the first episode of my podcast, my co-host and I pay homage to Lenny Bruce for being the bedrock of modern comedy and a free-speech crusader. I had never viewed Lenny before and was expecting a typical biopic concerning the comedian — childhood, struggle, rise, fall, etc. But that's not how the film plays out. Instead, Lenny is shot in a fragmented, arthouse feel with a style that mixes scenes of his life with interviews from friends and loved ones after his untimely death. Dustin Hoffman plays our titular character, and I probably couldn't think of a more perfect casting. Ultimately, this is the real-life story of the legal system destroying a man (for telling jokes) even when he technically wins in court. Unfortunately, it is not the legal system that destroys artists like Lenny these days, but fellow Americans. Ironically, he wasn't arrested for going on cringey — even at the time — tirades about n*gger, spic, wop, mick, etc., (not to be blatantly offensive, but to prove a point concerning giving power to words) but for saying the word "cocksucker". Moreover, Lenny wasn't arrested in Middle America or the Deep South, but in supposed bastions of freedom like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. Hoffman does a mesmerizing job of Lenny's transformation from charismatic comic to legal obsessive, literally reading Supreme Court opinions on stage. As Eddie Izzard says, Lenny Bruce was the "Jesus Christ of Comedy…he died for us… for freedom of speech." For this reason alone, he demands to be studied and his legacy protected. While not everyone loved Lenny (Roger Ebert for one), I think that the average viewer would enjoy this film and it should be required watching for anyone who calls themselves an "artist" or is in "entertainment". Legend. Icon. Groundbreaker. In typical Lenny Bruce fashion, he held a mirror up to society and changed it for the better, and had to perish to do it.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"F**k you very much!"
You should know Lenny Bruce who, ahead of his time, had the guts to overcome the taboos of words. If the president would introduce all the "negros" of his cabinet, your son wouldn't come home crying because he has been called a negro at school. The meaning behind the words can change if we talk about it, if we laugh about it, that's a role humor can have.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
dave s
Like Lenny Bruce's life and career, Bob Fosse's biopic Lenny is, at times, erratic, inconsistent, and brilliant. Fosse continually shifts tone and style throughout the film, alternating between scenes of stand-up comedy, standard narrative, and simulated interviews, using beautiful black and white cinematography to capture the feel of the times. The movie tells us as much about Fosse's innovative directorial choices as it does about Bruce's troubled life and turbulent career. Hoffman is fantastic as the profane, angry and vulnerable protagonist, adding another iconic performance to his already impressive resume early in his career.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
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