Lenny

A film about the life of the comedian Lenny Bruce. Bruce is a stand-up working clubs in the 1950s. He starts with conventional jokes; then his material changes. He begins speaking directly about religion, politics, race and sex, and swears on stage. That is where the trouble starts. There are limits in America at the time on what can be said on a stage. Bruce is arrested repeatedly, goes to court and fights obscenity cases. Clubs become reluctant to book him. The narrative runs the rise and the fall in parallel: he becomes known while becoming unemployable. The second line is his relationship with his wife Honey and their addiction. The method is interview. The narrative proceeds through retrospective testimony; his wife, his mother and his manager speak to camera, and the scenes come out of what they say. It was shot in black and white and the stage sections look documentary. Dustin Hoffman plays Bruce and Valerie Perrine plays Honey. Bob Fosse directed. The film received six Oscar nominations. A strong example for anyone who likes biographical film and arguments about free speech. Before you watch, know this: the film does not glorify its subject and its last section is heavy.