BEST PICTURE SHOWCASE: "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)

Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. If a movie were made today with those two names, it would automatically be considered a probable box office bonanza. In 1979, Hoffman was just starting to reach his peak and Streep was still on the rise. I guess it should come as no surprise, being the acting legends they've become, that when they worked together 35 years ago, their film was not only a critical and commercial success, but it was that year's winner for Best Picture. I speak of Kramer vs. Kramer, the story of a divorcing couple battling for custody of their son, based on a novel by Avery Corman. The film approached the subject matter in a way that matched the changing of the times, as a social and cultural shift had begun at that point where single mothers and single fathers were both considered a possibility, as opposed to the old-school view that a child absolutely needed to be raised by his mother no matter what. The film takes a look at this from both sides, not preaching one way as better than the other, and showing both parents as having strengths and weaknesses. Let's check it out.

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Joanna Kramer (Streep) is tucking her 7-year-old son Billy (Justin Henry) into bed, and in doing so she seems especially affectionate, yet also as if something is on her mind. Meanwhile, her husband Ted (Hoffman) is arriving home late because he's just been assigned a new and very important account from his advertising firm and his boss, Jim (George Coe). Ted can't wait to share the news with Joanna, but the excitement quickly disappears when she says she's leaving him. Ted tries unsuccessfully to talk her out of it, and Joanna winds up leaving without her bag, saying she needs to find herself. Later, Joanna's friend Margaret (Jane Alexander) visits, and Ted asks her if she had something to do with Joanna leaving, because everything was fine until Margaret's husband left her. Margaret says Joanna had courage to leave like she did. Ted retorts asking how much courage does she have to have walked out on her son? Margaret has no answer.

The next morning, Ted tries to explain to Billy that his mother had to go away for awhile, but she'll come back. Billy needs breakfast before school, so Ted attempts to make french toast. It goes badly, needless to say. The toast winds up burning, and Ted grabs the hot skillet, burning his hand and causing him to swear out loud. He brings Billy to school, drops him off rather haphazardly and races to get to the office. When he gets there, he tells Jim what happened with Joanna. Jim feels for Ted but worries about his concentration on this new account now. Ted tells him not to be concerned, he'll handle it.

Ted and Billy have difficulties adapting to one another on a full-time basis. Ted is trying to balance raising him alone with work, and Billy is always telling Ted that his mom did things a certain way, which differs from Ted's. In time, a letter arrives in the mail and Ted excitedly brings it to Billy, expecting the letter to say that Joanna will be coming home soon. He reads it aloud only to discover she's in California and isn't coming back. Billy turns up the TV to avoid hearing the rest of the letter. Ted decides to remove everything throughout the house that had anything to do with Joanna.

One day, Ted is late leaving work. Consequently, he's late picking up Billy from a birthday party he was attending. Billy's the last kid to be picked up, and he's angry with Ted. He misses his mom, and doesn't want to eat his dinner. He just goes to bed. The next day, Ted is late for a meeting at work, and his boss is obviously frustrated about that. That night, Ted and Margaret watch their respective children playing in the park, and bond during conversation.

It's now been 8 months since Joanna left. Ted arrives at work, hurriedly as usual. Jim meets with him and expresses some vexed concern that Ted is losing focus. Ted gets a phone call from Billy in the midst of this conversation, further agitating Jim. That night at dinner, Billy doesn't want to eat his salisbury steak. He just wants the chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer. Despite Ted's many warnings, Billy goes to the freezer, then gets the ice cream, then opens the ice cream, then eats the ice cream. Ted carries Billy to his bedroom and shuts the door as Billy throws a tantrum, screaming for his mother.

Ted comes into Billy's room a while later. Billy and Ted apologize to one another. Billy feels especially bad because he thinks his mom left because of things along the way of how he acted earlier. Ted absolutely assures Billy that's not the case, and candidly explains as best he can that she left because he was always working and wasn't making Joanna happy like a husband should. It's at this point where Ted and Billy reach the point where they fully appreciate each other as father and son.

Ted roots on Billy as he introduces the Halloween school assembly. Ted teaches Billy to ride a bike. Ted even has found himself able to get Billy to school on time each day. Things are going very well...and Joanna sees that for herself, as she's back in town and is watching from a coffee shop window near the school.

Ted gets lucky with his secretary, Phyllis (JoBeth Williams), and that's all well and good until early the next morning when a naked Phyllis meets Billy in the hallway. Billy seems pretty casual about the whole thing and makes small talk with Phyllis for a moment until she excuses herself and goes back into Ted's room. Later that day, as Ted and Margaret are at the park with their children, Billy falls off the jungle gym and sustains a bloody head injury. Ted carries Billy across several blocks of city traffic to the hospital, where he comforts Billy as he receives stitches to close the wound. Margaret feels responsible, since she was right next to Billy when it happened and looked away for a moment, but Ted assures her it was just an accident.

The next day, Ted gets a call. It's Joanna. Ted's thrilled to hear from her. They meet for lunch. Joanna lets it slip that she's seen Ted drop off Billy at school. As it turns out, she's been back in town for 2 months. While in California, she got a job and went to therapy, and found herself. She also wants custody of Billy. Ted pretty much tells her to kiss off. Ted lawyers up, and the lawyer warns him it could get ugly in court.

Things get worse for Ted as Jim brings him to lunch the next day and fires him, saying Ted has been unable to focus on this major account, which they've lost. Christmas is coming up, plus Ted and his lawyer both know that Ted being unemployed will be a major strike against him in court, so Ted strongarms his way into a job interview, which takes place on a Friday and during an office Christmas party. He's overqualified for the job but doesn't care that it's a step down in the advertising world. He gets hired.

Ted's lawyer calls him and says Joanna wants to see Billy. They set up a meeting time and place in the park. Billy, in an innocent 8-year-old's way, runs to his mother immediately upon seeing her. Joanna tells Ted (from a distance) she'll be back with him later. Ted, seeing how Billy reacted to seeing Joanna for the first time in a year, stands concerned even more now about the upcoming court date.

In court, both lawyers are ruthless. Joanna admits she left Ted and Billy on their own but is now back with a clear head, and believes a child needs his mother to be raised properly. Ted's lawyer brings up the fact that Joanna has never had a personal relationship with anyone for nearly as long as she did with Ted, and she seems unable or unwilling to finish anything she starts. Ted is a little upset that his lawyer was so rough on her, especially when he yelled for her to answer a particular question. Margaret is called to the stand and pretty much is forced to admit she had advised Joanna, who was unhappy, to leave Ted. She attempts to also say that Ted is not at all who he used to be, but the lawyer doesn't want to hear it and the judge orders her to stop speaking past the questioning being put to rest.

When Ted is on the stand, he states that he doesn't agree with the old mentality that the mother should always get custody of a child and would always be the better parent, giving examples of how well he and Billy have gotten on without Joanna around. Unfortunately, Joanna's lawyer makes a big deal out of Ted's job situation, and then brings up the injury Billy sustained on the playground, making it seem like Ted is a danger to his son. After the court finishes for the day, Joanna approaches Ted in the parking garage and tries to apologize, saying she never wanted her lawyer to bring up the playground incident. Ted doesn't want to hear anything from her.

The court ultimately sides with Joanna, maintaining the belief that a child needs his mother. Ted and his lawyer discuss appealing the verdict, but once Ted finds out Billy would have to be called to the stand this time around, he decides to throw in the towel. Ted does get visitation, but on a limited basis.

On the morning Billy is to move in with his mother, he and Ted make french toast for breakfast, successfully this time. They do it quietly, simply enjoying each other's company while also knowing this is the last time they'll be able to do so on a regular and normal basis. Joanna arrives later, asking Ted on the intercom to come downstairs to the lobby. Ted does so, and Joanna says she loves Billy with all her heart, but she realizes now that Billy's true home is here with Ted, and she will not take him. They embrace. She asks to see him one more time upstairs, and Ted tells her to stay up there as long as necessary, he'll wait in the lobby so the two of them can have privacy. As Joanna enters the elevator, she asks Ted how she looks. Ted says she looks terrific.

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Justin Henry, at age 8, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and to this day still holds the record for the youngest nominee for any Oscar in history. He does a great job in the film, thanks in large part to Hoffman coaching him before every scene they shot together. While he might have been a pro on-screen, he apparently was a very normal 8-year-old off it. Reportedly, when he lost a Golden Globe award to Ricky Schroder, he threw a tantrum. The role of Ted was offered to several others before Hoffman, but for one reason for another they all turned it down. These names include Al Pacino, James Caan and Jon Voight. The same happened with the role of Joanna, with Kate Jackson, Jane Fonda and Goldie Hawn all declining. Joan Lunden, the newscaster, was actually offered the role of Phyllis by Hoffman personally, and she was going to accept until she learned about that character's nude scene.

The casting that ultimately wound up finalized turned out to be the winning combination. Kramer vs. Kramer was 1979's highest-grossing film at the box office, and it scored 9 Academy Award nominations. It did not win for Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography or Best Supporting Actor. Henry did not throw a tantrum after this loss, but did have an obvious scowl as Melvyn Douglas was announced the winner for Being There. Douglas did not attend the ceremony because he found it rather barbaric that the Academy would have four grown adults competing against an 8-year-old, and he meant that in a way completely siding with Henry.

The other 6 nominations were split amongst 5 categories. There were two nominees for Best Supporting Actress, Alexander and Streep. The latter won, and for those who keep a Meryl Streep Oscar tally, this was her second nomination (she now has 18) and first win (she now has 3). The other wins came for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director (both to Robert Benton), Best Actor (Hoffman) and Best Picture. That top award pitted the film up against All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away and Norma Rae, all strong contenders.

Hoffman's win was not a surprise, but it was damn sure highly-anticipated because up to this point Hoffman had been very vocal about his dislike regarding the whole competitiveness of the Oscars, calling them in 1974 "...obscene, dirty and no better than a beauty contest." When Hoffman reached the podium, Oscar in hand, he first remarked how the golden man was naked and holding a sword, which got laughs. Hoffman then proceeded to be grateful and appreciative, but at the same time, humble and worldly-wise. He said he refused to believe that he "beat" the likes of Jack Lemmon and Peter Sellers. "We are part of an artistic family." He proudly accepted the award and said he shared it with every actor, both those lucky enough to be working now and also those many more currently having to work odd jobs as they try to get their big break. He got a rousing ovation upon completion, and there's no doubt the Academy breathed a sigh of relief.

Kramer vs. Kramer was the movie that first educated me on the existence of the Oscars. I was 7 or 8 years old and the film was airing somewhere on television, cable or wherever, and it was called the winner of the Best Picture award. That was the first time I ever knew they gave awards to movies. They certainly weren't giving awards to any movies I wanted to watch at age 7 or 8, so this was a big deal to me, and I remember I wanted to watch the movie since the commercial I saw for it made it look like a comedy. There are funny moments, but it's certainly not a comedy, and years later when I learned about the film's story I understood why my parents decided to steer me away from this film and towards something along the lines of The Fox and the Hound. Good call! With that said, this is indeed a very good movie, and it still resonates today because single parenting, and who maybe should and shouldn't raise a child, is a topic playing in the theaters of reality on a daily basis.