No Longer "Holding Up"

Rating: 5/10 (3 March 2019)

More than fifty years after its release, I don't think this film is holding up. My main criticism, at this point, is Dustin Hoffman, who I feel was miscast, and his character, Ben, who does not seem genuine to me. Hoffman was too old (29 or 30) and too atypical in appearance, and he lacked the athletic form that a track star would have. Ben, the character Hoffman plays, for all of his academic and athletic prowess, is a complete loser. He can't even greet his parents' guests or engage in small talk. This makes no sense, in view of the cultured and socially motivated parents he has. Ben has no grace. The guests at the party, in fact almost all of the adults, are strictly stereotypes, although Murray Hamilton -- excellent as always -- has some good moments. But, even so, almost all of the adults are generally nice, and genuinely like Ben, although it is not clear why.
Why Mrs. Robinson would get mixed up with Ben remains a mystery. Her husband (Murray Hamilton) and her alcoholism are the reasons, I guess, but there is no real character development to give us an insight into her behavior. The daughter, played by Katharine Ross, delivers a stiff, one-dimensional performance She went on to become a pretty good actress.
The soundtrack is holding up fairly well, but to be honest, the songs largely deal with an individual's right to occupy the center of the universe. The music was very egocentric.
All of this is just opinion, 20/20 hindsight, if you will, so no one has to get mad. It's an enjoyable flick, tedious and predictable at times, but worth seeing once or twice, but not repeatedly. As for Hoffman, he would very soon put in a timeless performance in "Midnight Cowboy."