The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 69

vi 1 The Boston Globe Wednesday, December 19, 1979 69 1 lively talker is always welcome i.wdf.ks Dear Ann Landers: I am writing about the "1 from Rochester. The woman really ran herself gT into the ground. She was REVIEW MOVIE a compulsive talker ana that person asked you a question. If so, it means he (or she) was interested. The genuine bore tries to engage the entire room with his strident bragging.

But you say you behave "normally" until you are with someone who is not much of a talker. You have the right to feel used by your listeners, because actually, you are not monopolizing them, they are monopolizing you. A lively talker takes the pressure off and helps people relax. If everyone at the party said to him or herself, "This time, dummy, listen," so many of us would be ill at ease, searching desperately for something to say. People like me who are not scintillating are glad to see you come in the door.

Please don't shut up. You are performing a useful service. Reader In Victoria, B.C. What a warm-hearted person you are. I'm sure you made a lot of people feel better about themselves today.

Thanks for writing. pushed a button and "The Talking Doll," am off, running my mouth like crazy. Your answer didn't help much, Ann. If anyone sends in a solution I hope you will print it. Another Blabbermouth A reader sent, not a solution, but a thoughtful and comforting comment.

Here it is: Dear Ann Landers: Mary Lou was depressed because she said, "I talk too much!" She then asked, point-blank, "How can I learn to shut up?" Because Mary Lou has rescued me from boredom and discomfort many times, I would like to respond. She may not be Oscar Wilde, but she is darned good company. Dear Mary Lou: Why are you so sure your listeners are bored to death? Do their eyes dart around the room while you are talking? Do they try to avoid you? While this happens occasionally to all of uij, next time you are suffering from postparty depression, ask yourself if became depressed when lav Ti -v -I 1 she got home and realized she had "done it again." I thought your answer was rather shallow. That letter could have been written by me. I never fail to talk up a storm at social gatherings.

When I come home, I could kick myself for trying to be so damned cute and witty. I tell myself, "People aren't interested in you, dummy. They are interested in themselves." Like Mary Lou, it's as though someone Ail 4 I aa iBtvrTr i p- -a a -as -s 1 if I i awis. I XW! 1 h- m. I 4 I nnfni 11 sale.

lil I rvSSSS OIL OF OLAY I ill I KLEENEX FACIAL TISSUE LISTERINE MOUTHWASH NTYLJNJE USTERINE -rz. 200 ct. 18 oz. FL LOTION 266 tvi rum Dustin Hoffman presents son Justin Henry for a reunion with his mother in "Kramer vs. Kramer." 'Kramer' and Hoffman both brilliant I ILCIIUL QC9 0 99 0 2 59 zuus lit J6 KOTEX ful Tir.lEX WATCHES 25 OFF Regular or Super 30's REACH TOOTHBRUSH 66! EFFERDEUT TABLETS 99 1 (TIMEX and nervous body all contribute to his definitive performance.

In fact, all the other actors might as well stay home the night of the Oscars and watch Hoffman collect the Best Actor Award from the comfort of their favorite TV chair. At the risk of being called a nitpicker, there is one; element that prevents this excellent film from being a great one. The.audience is asked to accept Meryl Streep's repressive role as wife and mother at face value. If Benton had included a short montage behind the credits that detailed her dreary life if we had seen her doing the laundry; fixing breakfast, lunch and dinner; emptying the garbage and waiting for her husband to come home at midnight, then we would be more sympathetic to her decision. In spite of that minor criticism, Streep manage to capture our sympathies during the provocative courtroom scene.

The custody battle is waged in distortions and half-truths that say more about the American judicial system in five minutes than And Justice for All" told us in two hours. Justin Henry is remarkable as the son caught in an emotional tug-of-war between his parents. Through the guidance of Benton and Hoffman, this child never resorts to cuteness. He communicates the feelings of his characj' ter with remarkable maturity. "Kramer vs.

Kramer" is up against some tough competition for your Christmas movie dollar but it's the one sure hedge against cinematic inflation. Hoffman, Streep and Henry persuade you that they are "real" people "in a "real" situation and that is a rare phenomenon in ion; temporary movies. ifEPSODENT TOOTHBRUSH CONAIR LOTS 0' CURLSngg KRAMER VS. KRAMER A film written and directed by Robert Benton. Based on the nova by Avery Corman.

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Strepp and Justin Henry. At the Sack Cheri and suburbs. Rated PG. By Michael Blowen Globe Correspondent What "The Graduate" was to the '60s, "Kramer vs. Kramer" may be to the 70s.

The modern story of a liberated woman who decides to leave her career-minded husband with their 6-year-old son resonates with the anxiety of a decade marked by separation, divorce and broken homes. It's a reality that thousands of Americans have faced and it's a reality that "Kramer vs. Kramer" confronts head-on. Dustin Hoffman is Ted Kramer, a middle-aged advertising executive whose career is on the rise. He's a diligent worker who drinks with his boss, takes his job seriously and is finally rewarded with full control over an important account.

He rushes home, apologizes to his wife (Meryl Streep) for being late, runs to the phone to make a business call and doesn't even hear his wife tell him that she's leaving him. When he finally realizes that she's tired of being a daughter, a wife and a motherland wants to discover who she really is, it's too late for discussion. The problem has overwhelmed them both and is raging out of control. At first, Ted thinks it's a joke. He figures that she needs to blow off steam and will return later that evening.

But when he wakes up in the morning, still dressed in his clothes and suffering from an anxiety hangover, she's not there. Suddenly, he's left with the household responsibilities that he neglected throughout their marriage. But the most significant adjustment is his transformation from career-oriented advertising man to family-oriented father to his son (Justin Henry). Writer-director Robert Benton exhibits rare restraint in his adaptation of Avery Corman's novel. The co-writer of "Bonnie and Clyde" and director of "Bad Company" and "The Late Show" keeps the emotional turmoil and inherent sentimentalism of the story on an even keel.

Although the film has been described as a "tearjerker," the tears that fall from the audience's eyes are not of the cheap, manipulative, crocodile variety. Benton strikes a difficult balance between the maudlin and the profound and rarely loses his humanistic view. He refuses to use the time-honored Hollywood technique of blaming one party for the failure and raising the other to sainthood. In the case of "Kramer vs. Kramer" no one's guilty.

Dustin Hoffman, whose recent performances in "Agatha" and "Straight Time" were adequate, gives his best performance since "Midnight Cowboy." Rarely has an actor reached so deeply into the heart and soul of a character torn between love for his son and his quest for personal success. Hoffman's ironic smile, confused eyes CLEARASIL SCHICK SUPER CARTRIDGES SCHWEPPES GINGER ALE TONIC WATER CLUB SODA Quart Size 2 89 Iciearon 4 oz. BALLROOM DAKS EVERY SAT. 2 BANDS 2 HALLS ONE ADMISSI01 9 Superll 5'9 1 WOfKNnlftd BtnfOMH 0 18 1 120 North 219-3080 Cocktails ftHors Rodt RtVNa) 1 I 1 PlrUrv I "3 EKingl ALKA SELTZER NOVAHISTIIIE COMEDY CAB I SHOWCASE I IEVUE CHARLES PLAYHOUSE STAGE II. I 76WirrntonSl Behind SrmberiJatirl DMX RODY ON TAP SHAMPOO Normal or Oily 11 oz.

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