Review of Hoffa (1992) by Tonypolito — 13 Nov 2010

Nicholson delivers a colossal performance, arguably his career-best dramatic work, in this lionizing biopic of the mysteriously vanished labor leader.

The script is not entirely factual, but it - and Nicholson - are at their best when it is. The film is saturated with dramatic deliveries that inspire viewer admiration of Hoffa.

Nicholson awes as he dramatizes the verbal and logical knockouts with which Hoffa pummeled a well-bred, well-schooled Bobby Kennedy during the 1957 McClellan Rackets Committee hearings - scripted verbatim from footage included in the extras.

Other milestones such as Hoffa's organization of Kroger Grocery truck drivers, his conviction, and his subsequent pardoning by Nixon are also portrayed through generally accurate historical content.

The admiration that Nicholson's delivery invokes is further justified and mirrored within the personal anecdotes of Teamster members found among the fairly generous DVD extras.

Director DeVito's exceedingly dull commentary is obsessed with trivial technical details.

No 1993 Academy nod for Nicholson's work here, but that doesn't imply a less-than-stellar delivery. Nicholson already had two statues on his mantle, while Al Pacino, still Oscar-less twenty years after "The Godfather," had "Scent of a Woman" up on deck.

"Hoffa" was of little interest when 1992-released straight into the blossoming of a full decade of prosperity. Now the film has its rightful place in time, as ever-more American workers find themselves exploited & abused by incompetent/unethical management, their workplaces exported out from under them, and relegated to McJobs in order to survive.

Today, many viewers would find a great deal to admire within what Hoffa accomplished for millions of American workers - no matter what means he used to accomplish them. And Nicholson's incredibly talented portrayal delivers up that admiration to them.

Strongly recommended.