Just perfect...

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

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.

Before he strode confidently into Hitchcock territory, filmmaker Brian De Palma began his career in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of anti-authority satires. Hi, Mom! (1970) wasn't quite as controversial as its X-rated predecessor, Greetings (1968), but it still has a bite, even today.Robert DeNiro stars as Jon Rubin, a Vietnam vet looking to find his place in America. He gets the idea of making porno films with a voyeuristic quality, filming the residents of a neighboring apartment building from his window. To get quicker results, he even seduces one woman and tries to perform for the camera, set on a timer. He also auditions for a role in a play entitled "Be Black Baby," in which the white spectators are humiliated by black performers.The film goes off on many tangents, using black-and-white footage to capture seemingly spontaneous reactions of passersby, but it never loses its obsession with voyeurism and the power of the camera. In many ways, this rambunctious mess gets closer to De Palma's dark heart than many of his later, more artistically successful works. Charles Durning appears in an early role as a slum landlord.

I watched this back to back with the films predecessor Greetings and I found the first one to be better and more sincere. This one just is. It tries to make a statement about the black community but it is lost on me what that statement is. Maybe it is just because I am not of that time. I had high hopes for this one because Greetings was so good but this one is slow paced and has no apparent meaning. I will give it a second viewing at some point because almost all of Brian De Palma's movies are better on the second viewing, Mission Impossible anyone? But I have my doubts about this one. This is most notable as the last film De Palma made before his breakout success with 1973's Sisters. I however think Sisters is even more a piece of garbage than this movie. See this to complete the masterpiece that is Greetings, all though their is not much completion in this.

Very strange and satirical look at a Vietnam vet (Robert DeNiro) and how he tries to get a job after being discharged. First he's a peeping tom--photographing neighbors without their knowledge. He also gets involved with one--Julie Bishop (Jennifer Salt). Then he joins a black theatrical group who basically rob all the white liberals who attend their plays! THEN he becomes an urban guerrilla willing to blow up buildings.As you can see this is not for all tastes. The humor is sharp, absurd, no holds barred and VERY funny. This movie takes aims at many targets (blacks, whites, race relations, politics, liberals) and goes after them full force. This may be a little strong for some people (the movie almost got an X rating for nudity) but I loved it. There's a particularly funny episode with blacks questioning white people on the street if they know what it's like to be black.DeNiro is a wonder---he's SO young and already talented. He plays every sequence perfectly. His bits with Allen Garfield are hysterical--the banter between them goes nonstop. DePalma already shows his directorial talents using split screen (in the opening credits) and having almost all of DeNiro's adventures shown through a video camera. Salt is sort of annoying--but she's supposed to be.A VERY 1970s comedy. Lots of the opinions and situations here just don't happen anymore but still worth seeing. Who ever knew that Brian DePalma could do a comedy? ("Bonfire of the Vanities" doesn't count--that was unintentionally funny). I give this an 8.