Dustin Hoffman does a good job portraying the character, especially the finger snapping. I hated the very very last scene. I started thinking alot about George Carlin, after it was over.

This movie is a reminder that words are cultural, never "bad" or "obscene." It's been too long for most reading this to remember Lenny Bruce, but he was the 1st to use comedy for social change.

I somehow felt that this is a lengthy when I was watching. Anyways cinematography is amazing, well crafted and just beautiful.

For the first episode of my podcast, my co-host and I pay homage to Lenny Bruce for being the bedrock of modern comedy and a free-speech crusader. I had never viewed Lenny before and was expecting a typical biopic concerning the comedian — childhood, struggle, rise, fall, etc. But that's not how the film plays out. Instead, Lenny is shot in a fragmented, arthouse feel with a style that mixes scenes of his life with interviews from friends and loved ones after his untimely death. Dustin Hoffman plays our titular character, and I probably couldn't think of a more perfect casting. Ultimately, this is the real-life story of the legal system destroying a man (for telling jokes) even when he technically wins in court. Unfortunately, it is not the legal system that destroys artists like Lenny these days, but fellow Americans. Ironically, he wasn't arrested for going on cringey — even at the time — tirades about n*gger, spic, wop, mick, etc., (not to be blatantly offensive, but to prove a point concerning giving power to words) but for saying the word "cocksucker". Moreover, Lenny wasn't arrested in Middle America or the Deep South, but in supposed bastions of freedom like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. Hoffman does a mesmerizing job of Lenny's transformation from charismatic comic to legal obsessive, literally reading Supreme Court opinions on stage. As Eddie Izzard says, Lenny Bruce was the "Jesus Christ of Comedy…he died for us… for freedom of speech." For this reason alone, he demands to be studied and his legacy protected. While not everyone loved Lenny (Roger Ebert for one), I think that the average viewer would enjoy this film and it should be required watching for anyone who calls themselves an "artist" or is in "entertainment". Legend. Icon. Groundbreaker. In typical Lenny Bruce fashion, he held a mirror up to society and changed it for the better, and had to perish to do it.

"F**k you very much!" You should know Lenny Bruce who, ahead of his time, had the guts to overcome the taboos of words. If the president would introduce all the "negros" of his cabinet, your son wouldn't come home crying because he has been called a negro at school. The meaning behind the words can change if we talk about it, if we laugh about it, that's a role humor can have.

Like Lenny Bruce's life and career, Bob Fosse's biopic Lenny is, at times, erratic, inconsistent, and brilliant. Fosse continually shifts tone and style throughout the film, alternating between scenes of stand-up comedy, standard narrative, and simulated interviews, using beautiful black and white cinematography to capture the feel of the times. The movie tells us as much about Fosse's innovative directorial choices as it does about Bruce's troubled life and turbulent career. Hoffman is fantastic as the profane, angry and vulnerable protagonist, adding another iconic performance to his already impressive resume early in his career.

Powerful but really, really sad.

Bob Fosse's mind must run at a million miles per hour. The way he's able to show everything at once is spectacular with so many different shots. He must have ADD. The way he's able to capture candid interactions and reactions of people is always interesting to watch. It's impressive the way he makes a movie. He's an extremely creative and imaginative individual. Wow, this blonde chicks body is banging. God what a schmuck this Sherman guy. It's interesting to see the different points of views from Lenny, his wife and the people who were in their life. And all this is happening while the story is playing out. "You son of a bitch! Why do you always have to be so fucking hip!". That line made me laugh so hard. That bit about racist slurs was brilliant. You try doing that today, and you'd be thrown out even before you make the point that Lenny was trying to make. And a very astute point at that. It's really admirable to see how he wasn't afraid to take it far. Incredible how they filmed that whole scene, where Lenny was whacked out of his mind on drugs, without any cuts or reshoots. It's one long take and it made me realize how amazing of an actor Dustin is. It's unfortunate because all he wanted was to spread the message that we could all say whatever the fuck we wanted without being censored or punished. The first amendment says so. Respect to Bob Fosse for even wanting to make a movie about an interesting topic and an even more interesting man. Pretty sad towards the end but definitely impactful. It's sad because the only thing that could shut Lenny up in the end, was Lenny.

While I appreciate the fact that this is not necessarily a traditional biopic it still had many of the same issues as a formulaic docudrama as it felt like series of disjointed events being thrown together with very little purpose. Perhaps it was director Bob Fosse who turned me off of the film as at many points it was all flash and no substance while pretending to have something meaningful to say about it's subject and his famously provocative comedy routines. At the end of the day I would prefer to see something like this than The Iron Lady (2011) or The Imitation Game (2014) but this was still a significantly flawed piece of work that wasted the considerable talent involved. Young Jewish-American stand-up comic Lenny Bruce, Dustin Hoffman, struggles to get work as he is not a particularly funny comedian and lacks the edge that will later make him famous. Early on in his ascent he meets and falls in love with prostitute Honey Harlow, Valerie Perrine, whom he quickly marries and forms an unsuccessful double act with. She inspires him to take more risks on stage and he gains a following but the two fall in with the wrong crowd and she ends up imprisoned despite their having a child to take care of. Bruce's career takes off while she is imprisoned and he faces legal ramifications for using the word ‘cocksucker' in a comedy club. In a surprising turn he wins the court case and sets a precedent for performers being able to deliver more racy material. He becomes obsessed with the case however and his performances become more about politics than humor. In the last months of his life he distances himself from his wife and children and falls prey to drug addiction as the quality of his performances decreases and he is finally pushed to suicide. In many ways the film similar to Raging Bull (1980) as it explores the life of a person who is very successful in their career but not in their personal lives and the sexual jealousy he feels over his wife. Unfortunately this film pales in comparison as the separation between Bruce on stage and Bruce dealing with his wife and children seems so wide that it is hard to see the connections as we do with Jake LaMotta. The desperation is never there as while we see Bruce studying the loopholes of the law in order to win his case we never quite understand what it is that drives this man and why and how he sabotages his own ambitions. His sexual jealousy is also underdeveloped as we see him give a long monologue about his Madonna-whore complex while on stage that is directly commenting on his own relationship with his former prostitute wife. We never get the beguiling shots of Cathy Moriarty's legs that Scorsese provided to us in Raging Bull however and the anger that Bruce feels cannot compare to the simmering rage that LaMotta feels from the moment he meets his second wife. These were both men who resented the power that their wives held over them in being sexually attractive but LaMotta's experiences were more compelling to follow. The performances were something that I did not enjoy as Hoffman leans too far into his ‘method' tendencies and is doing a lot of very visible ‘acting' instead of playing the role. Of course I think Hoffman is a great actor and he is absolutely brilliant in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and The Graduate (1967) but here he didn't grab me and I appreciate the fact that he went back to a more authentic style in future roles, Rain Man (1988) excepted. Perrine is quite astonishing however as his deadbeat wife, believable as both the sex kitten and the childlike jailbird who struggles to express herself. In the scenes in which she is asked to speak to camera as though in a documentary she is heartbreaking to look at as she still hasn't come to terms with the death of her husband or grown up. Of the two I would say only Perrine was deserving of her Academy Award nomination but I would argue she played a supporting role instead of a lead. Finally, I must note the cinematography used in the film which is exceptionally beautiful as black and white feels rich with detail and every shot has a Gordon Willis-esque quality to it.

A very brave movie about a very brave man, meticulously crafted by Fosse and Co.

A criminally overlooked movie in my opinion. It's unique, funny, thought-provoking and heartbreaking at the same time....definitely deserves more recognition.

Compelling idealization of the foul-mouthed comedian and the small circles he traveled in.

this was ok, but lenny doesnt really do it for me

sad movie but this is when one Dustin Hoffman was on his A-game about controversial comic Lenny Bruce in the 60s it's a true story but based on a play so it's more of play than movie but really good acting from the two leads !

8.6/10, my review: http://wp.me/p1eXom-2p6

Bob Fosse really gives his films this palatable anxiety filled energy that courses throughout his movies. That's what I felt while watching this, and at least some of that comes through Hoffman's great performance. Great filmmaking, one I can see growing higher in esteem for me the longer away from watching it I am

Brilliantly crafted. Dustin Hoffman gives a great show. Some of these long takes are incredible. Great editing as well.

excellent underrated movie

A strong tribute to Lenny Bruce.

Love that it presents it's lead as a complex, often despicable person instead of trying to deify him.