Melvin and Howard (1980)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Melvin and Howard (1980) – J. Demme

American films from the 1970’s have a different feel, although I suppose I’m thinking pretty specifically about films by Bob Rafelson or Bob Altman.  But there are probably countless other examples of these kinds of character-driven (not formulaic) films that are funky and good-looking but not overly stylized with great soundtracks.  Maybe we should throw Scorsese in here or F. F. Coppola and that might make sense since Jonathan Demme, like these two, began with exploitation films.  Sure, Melvin and Howard is a 1980 film but it clocks in just under the wire before the blockbuster really changed things for the worse and marketing took over art in Hollywood.  But I digress.  Melvin and Howard is an easy going tale based on the real story of a blue collar man who picks up Howard Hughes one night in his pick-up truck and ends up being mentioned in Hughes’ will (to the tune of 156 million).  The movie actually focuses on Melvin Dummar (Paul Le Mat) and his life, with all of its ups and downs, marriages and divorces to wacky Mary Steenburgen (a stripper/dancer), and move up to Utah from Vegas.  Demme films it all on location and it feels real and very 1970s America when people coped as best they could and often gave it their all.