Reviews

Rudy is the story of a mentally challenged young man, whose obsessive-compulsive disorder leads him to pursue one, and only one, goal in life. The pursuit of this goal is met with deserved scorn and derision. Though the goal is ultimately "achieved" through the pity and misguidedness of those around him, Rudy learns nothing about how the real world works and becomes destined to a life of reliving that one moment again and again via a series of "inspirational" lectures at local middle schools. In short, Rudy is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of the United States mental health system from the 1970s right through to today.

This movie falls short on so many levels, it's hard to completely identify all of them here and do each one justice. Let's start with what was probably the major selling point of the film when it first came out: We were going to see Stallone finally give a real, nuanced performance. What a letdown. As others have said, his Freddy character comes across more as mildly retarded than broken-spirited. Next up: The great cast. Another huge underachievement. Some of the best actors turn in some of their worst performances. Kietel brings none of his usual charm or depth to a role that required at least a fake persona of trustworthiness, to make his ringleader role seem believable. DeNiro (whom, admittedly I have always found a tad overrated and limited in the types of roles he can play) absolutely mails this one in. The others are given little else to do except stand around and play tough guy/disenchanted wife/scared subordinate as the case may be. Sure, Ray Liotta chews some scenery, but it somehow winds up seeming out of place compared with the tone of the movie. Finally, the plot is absolutely ludicrous. The idea that "Superboy" would somehow live in a water tower after the events that transpired is comical. And does Freddy have absolutely no one else he can call when transferring Superboy out of the police station, so much so that he gets jumped, alone, by two of Kietel's goons in broad daylight right outside the station? Ever heard of a phone Freddy? To other Jersey cops, to the media, to the FBI? All in all, a bizarre and just plain "weird" movie that winds up being so much less than the sum of its parts. In that regard, I have to agree with a previous poster named Yisraelh, who says that there is just something "wrong" with this movie that is hard to identify. I know exactly what he or she means. Even having listed many of its flaws above, there is still something about this movie that is just not right, that is hard to put a finger on, though God knows I've tried. In this way, the comparison to "Sleepers" is completely apt. Another movie that seems to miss the mark for elusive reasons (though I could detail some of the exact same complaints for that movie regarding performances, plot, etc.) On a final note, I grew up in exactly the same area that this movie is supposed to have taken place, and it does a very half-ass job of capturing the sense of location. Geography gets screwed up, and the areas directly over the GWB are portrayed as being a lot more working class/blue collar than they actually are. That area is further south, closer to Cliffside Park/West New York/Weehawken. A minor complaint for most who are not familiar with the area, but just one more thing for me that adds to this movie's distanced and "out of touch" feel.