#HectorValentinLinoJr

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Hi, Mom! (1970)

While deep diving into the world of 1970′s American cinema, I quickly found out that the well was deep and diverse.  I was pulled in so many directions that my list of ‘must-see’ films ballooned out of control quickly.  While watching a documentary that covered films of that time, a brief clip popped up showing black revolutionaries asking people in the streets of New York if they wanted to know what it was like to be black... the footage was intriguing, and I didn’t know if it was a documentary, or what... and the name confused me even more.  This was my introduction to Hi, Mom! 

Jon Rubin (Robert De Niro) is a young New Yorker with dreams of breaking into the film industry, but due to his financial circumstances, he must start at the only level he has access to : pornography.  He rents a cheap apartment in the city and immediately forms a makeshift camera and telescope system to spy on and record his neighbors across the street in hopes of catching them in the act of sex.  After a trial period, Rubin convinces producer Joe Banner to fund his venture and provide him with the necessary equipment to pull off his task.  Rubin immediately sets his sights on a group of four windows, which include a family, a group of single women and a young college student turned revolutionary.  After nights of unsuccessful attempts to catch anyone in the act, Rubin takes matters into his own hands by attempting to seduce Judy Bishop (Jennifer Salt), one of the young women in the apartment occupied by bachelorettes.  Rubin enacts mindgames and calculated schemes to finally seduce Judy, but his camera fails him, resulting in Banner cutting ties with Rubin.  Meanwhile, National Intellectual Television, a New York-based television station, is airing N.I.T. Journal, with a focus on an aggressive education program known as Be Black, Baby!  Rubin, despondent, begins to see advertisements for the program and decides to take part in an acting capacity, but as he and the W.A.S.P. attendees quickly learn, the experience is more than any of them bargained for.

Hi, Mom! is a very tongue-in-cheek look at exploitation, sexual or otherwise, and how many will use these moments of exploitation to get over, even if it means others must ultimately suffer.  The running commentary on New York and economic disparity (this setting being symbolic of the bigger American picture) attempts to show how it creates gaps in both race relations and class relations.  The movie becomes a reflection on the idea of revolutions, both sexual and cultural, that ultimately die, both symbolically and literally.  

The real gem found within this film are the N.I.T. Journal Be Black, Baby! sequences.  They are divided into three extremely memorable sections : a series of man on the street interviews, an immersive theatrical production about the black experience, and an attempt at armed revolution that goes terribly wrong.  These sequences help offset the extremely light and silly comic tone the film comes at you with in act one, shifting the slapstick into a celebration of stylistic absurdist documentary before landing in the realm of tragic satire.  The swings between these styles remind me of the spirit of filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard, and would be an early indication of Brian DePalma’s refusal to make ‘normal’ films.

DePalma has a playful camera in this film, as he toys around with perspectives, film stock and camera setups all throughout.  Be it first-person shots, voyeuristic shots or handheld camerawork, we are constantly shifted throughout the world of the film through a variety of symbolic and literal lenses.  The complete shift in style around the halfway mark must have been a bold choice for the time, as the comical lightness of the first half takes a backseat to a harsh series of black and white sequences that literally set black and white against one another, creating an uncomfortable dynamic via Be Black, Baby! that is jarring in comparison.  The fact that the film ends on a joke, however, helps put a nice bow on the entire thing.

For an early role, Robert De Niro really gets a chance to spread his wings, especially comedically.  He could have easily dropped the ball with this material, but he stays entertaining enough that when the style shift hits, we are hooked completely.  Jennifer Salt comes off as a bit of a one-dimensional character, and to be fair, her character’s inclusion was basically there to help advance De Niro’s, but she does have memorable moments.  Paul Bartell is fiercely entertaining in his role of revolutionary troupe member, turning an initial intense silence into an actor who seizes moments and elevates tension quickly.  Allen Garfield plays a perfect comic straight man to De Niro’s bumbling goofball performance of the first act.  Hector Valentin Lino, Jr. and Carole Leverett also stand out as the mouthpieces of the Be Black, Baby! troupe, with the remainder of the troupe taking complete control of the film for a solid 20 minutes or so.  Brief appearances by Charles Durning, Floyd L. Peterson, Ruth Alda and Paul Hirsch round things out. 

While this film is not the most well known piece of work in either the DePalma or De Niro catalog, it is one worth checking out if you find it and have the time.  the Be Black, Baby! sequences alone are worth the ‘price of admission’, and I feel this movie would pair well in a double feature with Putney Swope, something I may try to set up one day.