Customer Reviews

Steal This Movie!

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

`Steal This Movie' is a well-thought, well-written well-acted, well-made dramatization of the life of left-wing activist Abbie Hoffman, probably the most famous of the Chicago Seven. (The title is a play on the title of Hoffman's autobiography, `Steal This Book', though it certainly doesn't have the poignancy of that title.) `Steal This Movie' made some bold casting choices. The lead role was given to Vincent D'Onofrio: not an obvious choice, because Vincent looks very little like Abbie, which caused many die-hard history aficionados to bash the decision. However, Vincent fills the role wonderful, brilliantly, expressing all the conflicting sides of Hoffman's personality, his sense of humor, his dead seriousness, strict political consciousness, bi-polar disorder, having to live in hiding and away from his wife and son. He makes the character come alive much more than someone else could have by simply looking and talking like him. Abbie's wife Anita is played wonderfully by SNL's Janeane Garofalo, accomplished comedian but not so as a dramatic actress.

Though it doesn't have that much cinematic value by its own right, `Steal This Movie' does a fantastic job of getting through both the spirit of the time and the greatness and difficulties of Hoffman's activities and his character - a great and fascinating person whose impact has long been overlooked. It's also a wonderful document of an important period that is practically ignored (relatively, of course). For those interested in the late 60s, in the hippie movements, Black Panthers and other left wing political movements of the time, and of course in Hoffman himself - it's invaluable, on top of being both touching and entertaining. A good watch.

ack,what a great film! the acting is superb, and the screenplay is great - i found myself looking for a pen to write down tons of the lines that i found especially inspiring.

i disagree with the other reviewers - the editing style is just that - stylish, not sloppy. in certain scenes, the camera wobbles a little, but i think that this gives the film an authentic feel to it - i felt like i was actually there, as a part of the riot, and those particular scenes had the feel of primary-source footage.

the movie was not only entertaining, but inspiring - where have all our idealistic leaders gone to? the film left me asking if the government had effectively done away with all of them.

perhaps this film is just a piece of propaganda. i don't know. but if so, i certainly fell for it! and i now officially LOVE vincent d'onofrio!

I received this movie for a birthday present, and having read previous biographies of the late yippie (from his brother Jack..et al) I knew the basic chronology of Abbie's life, but seeing a film (however dramatized) gave it a new dimension which had previously lacked in the most sympathetic books.

Watching this film as the Bush administration (who ignored the lessons of Vietnam altogether) declares war on the world reignited the passions of a very burt-out grad student. It may take forever, and the activist themselves may stumble along the way but change is possible. As opposed to the 'time limited' mass media presentation of social change, this transformation is a much slower ongoing process that current generations will not neccessarily be able to see).

The only thing I had a problem with was the movie presented abbie as a great understander of all social movements, when previous books admit that he did not originally comprehend the importance of the feminist and GLBT movements. Eventually realizing their importance, and the necessity of understanding sexism, Abbie (like many other lefties of his generation) had entered with his own internalized biases about what was political and what constituted valid social change.

Overall, however this was a great movie and I encourage ANYBODY involved in social justice work today to pick up a copy of this release for themselves and fellow activists. The end courtroom scene is especially timeless in it's celebration of revolution/indictment of discrimination and the fundamental nature of the US society.

Okay, so he doesn't really look like Abbie Hoffman...If you are one of those nuts who has to have history recreated to a "T" to even slightly enjoy a dramatization of it, then this film is not for you. (Most films aren't for you). Vincent D'Onofrio gives another excellent perfomance and my respect and admiration for him grow with his filmography. He throws his entire self into every role and his efforts in this film should not be dismissed. I think that this is a great movie and D'Onofrio makes it great. He upstages everyone. If you want to learn about the Yippies and Hoffman, read his book "Steal This Book" or read his biography.

See more Vincent D'Onofrio's films. Watch him in Law & Order: Criminal Intent. His is one of the most powerful and intense actors of our time.

I'm sorry, but I really not only liked this movie as a movie, but I think that it's important to see. I find it really difficult to find anything about this time and these people in the bookstores, and I would take what I can get, except--this movie has performances that really make the people seem real and create urgency.
Not a big Abbie Hoffman person, I can't fault Vincent D'onofrio's performance like others have. Maybe he isn't a carbon copy, but he makes me feel like I have learned something about the man, and have felt his humanity. That doesn't NOT matter, right?
And I adore Janeane--she really is the heart and mind of this film. Where Vincent is the physical, id sort of person, she makes it real and educates.
Reallly liked this film, and I want to know more; that's what a movie like this is supposed to do, yes?
By the way, the commentary by the two leads is not only laugh out loud funny, but also educates about the time and, important for those actors out there, crystalized the process of filmmaking. You come away knowing more about the movement, wanting to know even more about the movement, and knowing more about how a movie gets made. The relationship there is so perfect. Besides which, as I said, don't be drinking liquid while listening to the commentary, because you will laugh so hard. Maybe this is why they worked so well together on film.

Well-made biographical film on the left-wing activist Abbie Hoffman. Vincent D'Onofrio turns in an outstanding performance as the troubled Hoffman and Janeane Garofalo delivers one of her finest as his first wife. The supporting cast, including Jeanne Tripplehorn, is also very impressive and maintains interest even when the film begins to falter about midway through. The filmmakers decided to cram so many incidents into the film, that after a while it becomes a series of "Abbie does something unamerican and gets beat up by 'the law'...again" episodes which cause more unintended giggles than sympathy. Real emotional involvement begins to waver at this point as well. Also, whilst Hoffman and his cohorts speak believably and realistically about their plights against the war, racism, sexism, etc.; the conventional thinkers in the film are the same generic stereotypes you'd find in any commercial Hollywood film. Although a tad preachy, STEAL THIS MOVIE gets its points across loud and clear and it's good to know that someone as dedicated to their cause as Hoffman can still inspire younger, less focused individuals through literature and film.

paranoia strikes deep...and it was real......along the way i read about abbie and his cohorts in the papers and watched on t.v. and later read the books....including the surprisingly wonderful "letters from the underground," and now i've seen this special movie of a time and a man mostly misunderstood by the artful dissemination of misinformation.....i can't imagine this story being better portrayed as a tinsel town product...great casting and production...great feel for the times and the dynamics of abbie and anita....excellent use of actual footage and recreations....for some i might suggest watching the interviews with the cast and actual subjects in the movie...especially tom hayden and anita hoffman....before watching the movie..maybe not though...i watched the interviews last and they made a very good movie a very special event.......watch this movie and it will steal your attention and rally your emotions

This film is a complete disgrace to the memory of Abbie Hoffman and what happened altogether in the Movement in the 1960s and 70s. Made by a crew of sellout technical consultants, it takes the incorrect "nostalgic" view that the 60s were just a "crazy time" in some inexplicable way where everyone was running around for no apparent reason like clowns. Vincent D'Onofrio's performance is sickeningly unrelated to anything Abbie--rather than being the sly, slick poolshark Abbie, quick on his feet, D'Onofrio is a spaced out hippie who's constantly breaking into little evil smiles and saying "uhhh" between words, completely missing the rhythm and the power of Abbie's speech. They couldn't even get his afro right--he looks like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart" on the cover. Jeneane Garofalo, as usual, plays Jeneane Garofalo and nothing more.

Basically this film is your typical complete misunderstanding of the 1960s, designed around the idea that we can all look back and laugh about it now etc etc. The reality is that Abbie Hoffman was a slick, streetsmart, fiendishly smart guy and he used it for serious political aims--this film takes the fact that he used humor as a weapon to mean that his point was humor. It makes revolution out to be a joke, when in reality he was very serious, and very good at what he was doing.

I only wish Abbie had been around to stop this.

Steal This Movie invites a new generation to appreciate the contribution of Abbie Hoffman to recent history. All of the performances are memorable, but Vincent D'Onofrio in particular nails his portrayal of the multi-faceted Hoffman. This is a very good film.

While it would have been nice if this movie had been a little less obvious, the total lack of subtlety does seem to fit in with Abbie's methods and philosophies. If he had made this movie, he probably would have used the same voiceovers and "surveillance photos". He would not have wanted to leave even a shadow of a doubt that the Government was really after him, spying on his most intimate moments and sparing no effort to disgrace and defuse him and his movement.

Vincent D'Onofrio is becoming one of my favorite actors, after seeing him in "The Velocity of Gary" and a few others. His performance in "Steal this Movie" is nothing short of a transformation. He is amazing. All the actors do good jobs here, really bringing the characters to life.

Altogether, the movie does lack some depth and subtlety, but it is great entertainment as well as a good introduction to Hoffman's life. It certainly aroused my curiosity. Videotape this movie - Abbie would have wanted that.