by Chris Marshall:
Rain Man is one of
that handful of Best Picture winners I’ve seen multiple times, so there was a
nice sense of familiarity when I watched it again. Like Forrest Gump, which I’ve seen probably more times than any of the
others, it’s one of those that’s always on TV, so even if I haven’t seen it
from start to finish more than once or twice, I’ve still seen all the scenes on
several occasions.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly great about this
movie, but it’s perfectly enjoyable. Tom Cruise hadn’t quite reached his peak
yet, and Dustin Hoffman was already a well-established fixture in Hollywood. I
think they work very well together here. Hoffman, of course, won Best Actor for
his portrayal of the titular Rain Man, the autistic savant Raymond Babbitt,
putting him in the elite group of actors who have won multiple Best Actor
awards.
Cruise’s performance was effective, if not spectacular, and
at least he made up for Valeria Golino’s terrible
acting job as his girlfriend. Granted, I only know her from this and the Hot Shots! films, but I’m just
completely unimpressed by her talents.
