Hoffa (1992)

Synopsis: Foul-mouthed union boss and slavishly-loyal sidekick have a really bad day in 1975.

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Sweeping over four decades, screenwriter David Mamet’s unforgettable epic traces Hoffa’s turbulent career from 1935 when he first solicits over-worked, under-paid truck drivers like Bobby Ciaro (DANNY DEVITO) to join the fledgling International Brotherhood of Teamsters.”

What Did I Learn?: Apparently, Bobby Kennedy was a vindictive, tongue-tied, mealy-mouthed sleaze.

You Might Like This Movie If: You know there are some mysteries even Spock can’t solve.

Really?: 1) So wait – Hoffa gets Ciaro (De Vito) fired by blabbing some important information in front of everyone, and Ciaro becomes his trusted aide soon afterwards? It’s a nice plot point, but Ciaro is a fictional character, so this event never took place in real life. With this in mind, I have to wonder: who in their right mind would ever trust either Hoffa or the Teamsters after witnessing such callous indifference to a man’s livelihood? 2) Why in the world didn’t Hoffa or his gangster buddies destroy the hunting license that was used to sketch out the illegal use of union pension funds?

Rating: Hoffa is an entertaining, yet overly-long biopic on the career of infamous union boss You-Know-Who. Written by David Mamet, and featuring strong performances from De Vito and Nicholson (who, surprisingly – attempts to portray Jimmy Hoffa without playing a version of his cynical, eyebrow-raised movie persona) as well as top-notch production values, Hoffa misses its chance at greatness for a couple of reasons: 1) it’s told entirely from Jimmy Hoffa’s point-of-view (the character makes deals with the mob, and flies into volcanic rages, yet we’re supposed to sympathize with him), and 2) in spite of this, the film never really explains what made the union leader “tick”. Was it a genuine concern for working-class Americans? Personal ambition? Deep-seated resentments? Heck, we don’t even meet Hoffa’s wife until mid-way through the movie, during a union election speech. 7/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104427/