Bob Fosse directs Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine and Stanley Beck in this biopic of acerbic 1960s stand-up comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as criminally obscene.

Lenny is a strange choice to watch with your father-in-law on a Sunday afternoon. But he chose it, with all its grimness, druggy paranoia and boobies, so here we are. All encompassing performance from the brilliant Hoffman, he actually makes Bruce’s best routines somehow funnier. And Fosse truly understands show business and the live environment better than anyone. He is smart enough to wallow in the highs and lows. Imagine a modern stand-up biopic where a nepo kid toils astounds in hacky sell-out schtick poorly before finding his groove years down the line. Faces not enjoying it even at his apex. Bruce’s obsessive need to be right is his ultimate downfall. You were right, you are right, Lenny. They don’t need to acknowledge it. Sad and sleazy. Not a celebration. But it transports you into the audience and also into the ultimate comedy disruptor’s mindset. Not an easy watch but a great movie.

9

Perfect Double Bill: All The President’s Men (1976)

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