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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
One of my biggest fears is divorce. Oh, how I fear divorce. One day your spouse walks up to you and says they don’t love you anymore and that y’all are done. You think the relationship and marriage are strong only to find out that is not the case. When you have kids involved, it can get downright nasty on the whole child support and even alimony parts of it. I have said this many times to people I know, “You better get that prenup.” This whole notion of if you get a prenup, then it is a sign that you expect the relationship to fail. How about protecting your assets and ensuring you don’t end up in the middle of a courtroom dividing up beanie babies. Yes, I’ve seen that, and it actually happened. Protect your assets, people.
Written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman’s 1977 novel of the same name. Kramer vs. Kramer tells the story of a couple’s divorce, its impact on their young son, and the evolution and views of parenting. The film explores many aspects as the psychology and fallout of divorce while touching on social issues such as gender roles, women’s rights, fathers’ rights, work-life balance, and single parents. This movie hits hard in many areas while watching.
Ted Kramer (Hoffman) is an up-and-coming, workaholic advertising executive who just landed a big-time account with his company. Excited with the news, Ted rushes home to tell the news to his wife, Joanna (Streep). As Ted is telling her the news, Joanna tells Ted that she is done and is leaving him after eight years of marriage and that she will also leave their six-year-old son, Billy (Henry). At first distraught and in disbelief, Ted thinks this is a phase, only to realize that his wife did leave him for good. Realizing that he doesn’t know anything about raising his son or being a father, Ted must reinvent the way he views his relationship with his son while juggling being a single parent. With difficulties along with growth, Billy and Ted become closer than ever as Ted puts his son first. After eighteen long and challenging months, Joanna returns, saying she wants custody of their son. Distraught, Ted vows to fight here. In a court battle, who will win custody over their son? With a family already in ruins, can there be any winners?
I want to say that this movie puts so many themes into light. One of those themes is not only the thought of a single parent but views it on the father’s side. Ted seems to have nothing in common with Billy even though he is his son. In the beginning, dude couldn’t even make French toast for his son. That is how bad it is. He literally made it in a coffee mug. From there until halfway in the movie, you see the distrust in both Billy and Ted. Billy wants his normal life with his mom, and Ted doesn’t know what to do. Ted gets angry when Billy spills over a glass of fruit punch on his papers and vice versa; Billy gets upset at Ted because he picked him up late from a birthday party. The climax of their resistance is when Billy has ice cream for dinner, and an argument ensues.
Through all the trials of being a single parent and learning how to cope with the pain together, both Billy and Ted grow closer to each other more than before. One morning, the two get up. Billy sets the table with donuts, and Ted gets the paper. Ted reads the paper, and Billy reads comics, and they say nothing. Ted goes to Billy’s Halloween pageant/ceremony and supports his son to the fullest. Ted teaches Billy how to ride a bike and is so proud. When Billy falls from a jungle gym, Ted picks his son up and hauls ass on foot through traffic to get his boy to the E.R. That’s some real love right there.
Even through all this, we see some significant growth in Ted as a person. When Ted is trying to figure out what to do when his wife left him, he flips out on his neighbor Margaret. Margaret was the one that convinced Joanna to leave Ted because she was unhappy. As time went on, Ted and Margaret grow close as they take their children to the park and discuss their lives and world. Even after the park incident, Ted asks Margaret to watch Billy if anything ever happened to him.
Now the real drama comes when Joanna comes back after eighteen months of being away in Cali and to see a therapist states she wants Billy back. This is where I feel like the law favors one side to another. If a parent just straight up and dips out and they return, why should they automatically ask for rights? First, you need to prove that you want to be in the child’s life and come with those papers that say you have a job. If you were gone for 18 months, you should have to prove for 18 months you want to be in the child’s life. Ted flips out on Joanna and states he will fight the decision. Ted even loses his job for messing up an account. Dude looks for a job and gets one in 24 hours. He tells the boss that either hire him right now and as he leaves straight up kisses a woman he doesn’t even know. Straight BOSS mode for finding a job in 24 hours even if he is making less.
Now the tragedy of this whole film comes in the courtroom. It is straight-up nasty as both lawyers attack the other’s character. As you watch, you can just feel that the family will never be whole again. It is sad to see a kid being placed in the middle of the entire thing. In the end, Joanna wins, and the idea of what makes a good parent comes into question. The scene from the beginning to the end has completely changed. Both Ted and Billy are crushed by the news. In the end, both Billy and Ted know how to make French Toast. The scene speaks volumes as they don’t speak at all and just make food. You know it is sad because the little boy just wants to cry. After all of this, Joanna arrives and states she can’t take Billy away. Why the freak go through all of this shit in the first place?
The acting was spot on in this film. Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer was tremendous. He showed all the emotions of a person whose world had completely crumbled around him when his wife left him. He is angry and has a very short temper in the beginning. As the movie went on you, see him grow from a workaholic person in his job to a workaholic person who would do anything for his son. The whole slapping of the glass scene is one that has brought on some major controversy.
Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer was in the film mainly during the last 20 minutes of the film. She made a definite impact during the case as a mother who wants to be with her son but doesn’t know if she is okay with herself. When Meryl brings the tears, you know it is an intense scene. Meryl is an absolute G.O.A.T. in the movie industry.
Justin Henry as Billy Kramer was the best version of a son who didn’t know what was going on in the world around him. In the beginning, he is upset that his mom left and is with his dad, and towards the end loves his dad and doesn’t want to leave him. Jane Alexander as Margaret Phelps was great as the neighbor who cared about both parents and wanted to see the best for each of them.
Kramer vs. Kramer is a great film that has many themes that back in the day were strong and somewhat speaks today. To watch a court case like this somewhat shows what many divorced parents go through. I will say this, get that prenup!
