Fresh from his success starring in films such as “Risky Business,” “Top Gun” & “The Color Of Money,” Tom Cruise (one of my favorite actors of all time) became an A-List Actor in blockbusters. Today he remains as one of the highest paid actors of his generation. Back in the late 80’s, he starred in two films. One was a Razzie winning picture called, “Cocktail.” He later confessed it as a misfire. Despite his setback, after Bill Murray dropped out to co-star with Dustin Hoffman, Tom won the role as half of the main lead characters in an adventure road movie known as “Rain Man.”
Rain Man was released in 1988. (same year Awkwafina was born) It became a sleeper hit earning critical acclaim from critics & movie goers alike. In addition to positive reception, it made a lot money at the box office. Rain Man went on to win Oscars at “The 61st Academy Awards including “Best Actor,” (Dustin Hoffman) “Best Director,” (Barry Levinson) & Best Original Screenplay.” To this day, it’s pretty shocking to learn that Tom never earned an Oscar nomination.
Fun Fact: Before The 91st Oscars Ceremony announced that no one is hosting, did you know that The 61st Oscars Ceremony was the first to not have one?
Rain Man is often parodied in other works such as “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” The Simpsons, (from the episode “$pringfield)” “The Hangover” & “Animaniacs” (Rita & Runt are based on Charlie & Raymond)
The reasons why I want to review this film is because Tom Cruise announced he has officially signed on to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in the seventh & eighth installments of the “Mission Impossible” franchise Each film is slated to come out in 2021 & 2022. By the time the eighth film comes out, Tom will be a 60. Don’t forget Top Gun: Maverick is slated for a 2020 release date. Last but not least, The 91st Academy Awards will air on February 24th.
Today’s review doesn’t contain no crucial SPOILERS. If you haven’t seen this film, feel free to read my non-spoiler article.
Excellent & Bad Aspects
Excellent: Tom Cruise & Dustin Hoffman both did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Other Cast Members such as Valeria Golino (who hasn’t been around since Escape From L.A.) & Jerry Molen (Steven Spielberg’s longtime film producer) both did a good job for their performances.
Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, You Don’t Know Jack) did a great job directing the film.
Barry Morrow (Mickey Rooney’s Bill, Bill On His Own) wrote the screenplay and he did a decent job.
Hans Zimmer orchestrated music for the film. This is Hans first music production in Hollywood.
Cinematography never suffered from any technical issues whatsoever.
Chemistry between Tom & Dustin’s characters, served as the main highlight for the story.
Humor in this movie has some memorable dialogue between the leads. My favorite joke is “He’s Artistic?” I have to give this an Extra Point for making me laugh my butt off.
A fart scene also made me laugh. Here’s an interesting bit, it wasn’t in the script.
As the film progresses, Charlie earns himself Character Development. Without giving anything away, he goes from a pretentious greedy businessman to a nice guy.
Both Charlie & Raymond’s backstories are mentioned.
Raymond mentioned that Charlie was born in 1962. Which is the year Tom Cruise was actually born.
If you wanna why Rain Man sounds like a superhero movie, it’s explained in a pivotal scene. When I first heard of the name Rain Man, I think of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” back when Drew Carey hosted.
Raymond is based on late real life savant on the spectrum, Kim Peek. If you’re interested in his life story, there’s a documentary called, “The Real Rain Man.”
My favorite line is “97x bam the future of Rock & Roll.”
Bonnie Hunt (Sally from Pixar’s Cars) makes her film debut as a waitress.
Barry Levinson makes a brief appearance as a doctor.
I can’t tell you The Ending. Let’s just say “Reality Ensues.”
Bad: Now that we live in the iPad generation, the film is a tad dated. We no longer have to worry about showing up before your favorite show comes on. If the movie was made right now, Raymond & Charlie’s journey can flow slightly using an iPhone, tablet or something to stream on the go.
Product Placement featuring the following brands including Orange Crush, Mott’s Juice, Cheetos, (I didn’t they had cheese balls back in The 80’s) Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Eggo, Amtrak, Radio Shack, Ruffles, Rold Gold, Tide & Sony. GOODNESS GRACIOUS! The amount of product placement is overwhelming!
The Final Verdict: B, FOR BEAUTIFUL!
Rain Man is one of Tom Cruise’s best movies besides the Mission Impossible series, “Top Gun,” “Born On The 4th Of July,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Collateral” & “Edge Of Tomorrow.” If you’re lookin’ forward to seeing Tom Cruise’s future movies, I highly recommend this film. As a fan of Tom, I cannot wait to see Ton Gun: Maverick & the upcoming Mission Impossible films.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 