MovieChat Forums > Rain Man (1988) Discussion > Raymond was a VERY Selfish Man!

Raymond was a VERY Selfish Man!

posted 7 years ago by jasonmovieguy (182)
13 replies | jump to latest

For as much praise as Rain Man (1988) received at the Academy Awards, was this really the Best Film of the Year? I'm not so sure.

Tom Cruise plays a car salesman who learns his father has died and left him nothing in the will. Except rose bushes. $3 million is going to his brother Ray, played by Dustin Hoffman. Cruise hatches a plan to kidnap his brother, and then the lawyers will fess up half the cash. It definitely makes sense considering he was also part of the family. He deserved more then the lousy deed his father left him.

The two get together, but it turns out Ray is a bit mentally unstable. Autism I believe- mixed with a really annoying personality. Raymond is not flexible. He refuses to fly on planes because most airlines have crashed. So they have to drive to Los Angeles. During the ride, he bugs Tom Cruise about getting the proper boxer shorts- "which are in Ohio". I totally understood Cruise's frustration with this lunatic. I would have kicked him out of the car, and cut my losses. But the film continues on- and feels like Thelma & Louise without the cops chasing them. There isn't much purpose to this character drama other then Hoffman getting to show off his method acting tricks to the camera.

The worst scene is when the two brothers are dancing in their Las Vegas suite. Cruise finally is warming up to his brother, teaching him some moves. Then offers to hug him. Ray screams out in agony- like its the worst thing in the world. What a selfish, weird man he is! Your brother is trying to reach out to you, and THIS is how you react? Like he's some stranger from hell.

Cruise is pretty good, but even when he has a change of heart towards the end of the movie, Hoffman's Raymond doesn't care. He stays exactly the same. No character development. No tender moment where the two brothers hug and say they love each other. Raymond is so selfish, he won't budge on his stubbornness. He's an example of why many men like him will never get married. Who wants to live with a person like this? He belongs in an institution.

FINAL GRADE: C

[–] Nicko's Nose (1651) 7 years ago

Are you trolling? Do you even know anything about severe autism?

[–] strntz (12668) 2 years ago

Absolutely a troll, and not even a good one. Good trolls are funny, bad trolls are that post.

[–] FredBurroughs (21871) 7 years ago

Many people with very pronounced autism are not self-aware. You might have missed some details. When Cruise pulls off Raymond's headphones to say goodbye, that is a moment of true character development. I trust you can figure out why.

[–] jasonmovieguy (182) 7 years ago

Character development for CRUISE. Not Hoffman. As I stated earlier, yes Tom Cruise's character changes. And he should have been considered for an Oscar. Hoffman, on the other hand, stares off into space and repeats words a lot. That's a pretty gimmicky, one-note performance. Anyone could have done it. But because it was essentially Forrest Gump toned down a notch, voters went for it.

This movie had potential to be so much more- but Ronald Bass took the easy way out.

[–] Furienna (3353) 6 years ago

What you seem to miss is that people with severe autism can act just like Raymond does, no matter how selfish and weird it is to you. And when you understand that, you will see why Hoffman deserved an Oscar. He just nailed what it's like to have such a condition.

And by the way, Raymond actually did live in an institution and returned to it at the end of the movie.

[–] marktayloruk (2554) 3 years ago

There are people who.just don't let being touched

[–] Dogiswhite (1373) 3 years ago

That is true. Some people don't like even being tapped on the shoulder.

[–] Dogiswhite (1373) 3 years ago

I agree that Cruise should have won an Oscar for this performance, but was not even nominated. Much like Denzel Washington in Philadelphia, much harder role with genuine growth.

[–] PaladinNJ (21587) 2 years ago

The "Cruise Curse"
He was in a phase where every role was taken with the intention of getting him an Academy Award. The result was a lot of people in those movies got Awards, but he never did.

[–] strntz (12668) 2 years ago

I wouldn't have nominated him either.

The character of Charlie Babbit was a low degree of difficulty act. Literally a dozen other actors could have played Charlie and the film would have been just as good and just as memorable. Cruise was great in this as he is in most things, but this role didn't require a Tom Cruise.

Raymond on the other hand was an extraordinarily difficult degree of difficulty. I can't think of one actor who would have come close to performing Raymond as Hoffman did.

[–] April-151-CT (10210) 3 years ago

#TrollFail

[–] gcarras (2776) 2 years ago

"Autism I believe- mixed with a really annoying personality. Raymond is not flexible. He refuses to fly on planes because most airlines have crashed."
And 13 yrs before 9/11. I agree totally, 5 yrs later. I have very high aspie sndrome,. and am nothing like Dustin Hoffman, otherwise a legend sin ce the 60s (but more for his muich older stuf),and Tom Cruise, and composer Hans Zimmer (INTERSTELLAR should have gotten the 2014 Oscar for the score in my mind)

[–] Druff (1818) 2 years ago

Troll Rating: 6/10