1980 was one of Hollywoods' true 'golden years'( the strongest was, probably 1939, and the weakest was-probably- 1956.) Everyone remembers such great films as Raging Bull, The Elephant Man, Ordinary People, and Coal Miners daughter, but there were other, overlooked or nearly overlooked films. Of these, the finest was, beyond a doubt, Melvin and Howard.Based on a twentieth century addition to American folklore( the improbable saga of Howard Hughes and Melvin Dummar), Jonathan Demmes' film tells the story of a chronically unsuccessful Everyman, Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have unknowingly picked up Howard Hughes one night in the Nevada desert, and who also claimed to have been written into Hughes' will. Demme uses these materials to fashion a parable about the American dream and human aspiration.It is funny, superbly acted ( Robards probably deserved a third Oscar, and Mary Steenburgen fully deserved hers), well written, and profoundly human. Melvin Dummar may not have actually picked up Hughes in the desert, and the will may have been a forgery, but his life story does tell some important truths about the meaning of life.
Review of Melvin and Howard
