Melvin and Howard (1980)

Synopsis:

On a quiet night, Melvin Dummar (Paul Le Mat, American Graffiti) gives a lift to a disheveled old-man (Jason Robards, All the President’s Men). The shabby hitchhiker turns out to be millionaire Howard Hughes, and when he dies, Dummar claims that the tycoon repaid his act of kindness by leaving him a chunk of his fortune.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“They didn’t burn down Rome in one day… you got to keep plugging.”

If you were alive during the 1970s, then you remember the bizarre real-life story of Melvin Dummar, a gas station owner who claimed to be one of the heirs to magnate Howard Hughes’s vast fortune. Melvin and Howard is a retelling of the Dummar-Hughes saga. However, this isn’t just a mere reenactment of a strange tale. It’s mostly an all-encompassing analysis of the elusive nature of success in America.

Was Melvin telling the truth about meeting Hughes? The movie insists he did, but considering the gargantuan holes in Melvin’s odd story, one has to take the film with a grain of salt. But Melvin and Howard isn’t all that interested in Melvin, as it turns out. After a while, it becomes clear that there is something else going on here.

In a completely unexpected move, director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) and writer Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) use this allegedly true story as a pretext to dig deep into the trappings of The American Dream. A wacky story that may or may not be true gradually evolves into a fascinating, eye-opening dissection of the American culture and its obsession with money, and status.

The film states that The American Dream is a myth, and heaven helps those who hunt for it. The movie also suggests that success is an individual choice. Although I think it’s a bit more complicated than that, I thought it was rather brave for the film to propose that success is intrinsically linked to our ability to choose freely.

Demme and Goldman seem to believe that we are the architects of our own lives, and that isn’t something that most people want to hear. Melvin, whose life is cleverly used as a barometer of the American experience, ruins every opportunity that comes his way. As we often do, he blames everyone but himself for his problems. But you can see why success has eluded him: his troubled life is a reflection of his poor choices.

Good things happen to Melvin. Bad things happen to him. Melvin squanders the good, and doesn’t learn from the bad. Paul Le Mat is perfect as Melvin, and he conveys the character’s inability to learn and grow superbly. Mary Steenburgen and Jason Robards are great as well — they play Melvin’s first wife and Hughes, respectively.

Jason Robards received an Oscar nod for playing the dotty Hughes, and he’s terrific. Robards only appears at the beginning and at the end, but his presence is felt throughout the entire movie. Steenburgen won an Oscar for portraying Melvin’s long-suffering first wife — she is real, radiant, and endearing. On a sad note, the great Gloria Grahame (The Bad and the Beautiful) has a bit role as Steenburgen’s mother.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Melvin and Howard is a rare bird. It’s whimsical like a Frank Capra movie, and it’s sardonic like a Billy Wilder comedy. And it also touches on many important social issues, like an old Stanley Kramer production. This well-crafted comedy-drama will give you a lot to think about, while you simile at the absurdities of the American culture. It’s a great movie, which I heartily recommend. Color, 95 minutes, Rated R.

This is my contribution to It’s In the Name of the Title Blogathon, hosted by Rebecca’s Taking Up Room and Gill’s Realweegiemidget Reviews.

Theatrical Trailer: