Steal This Movie! (2000)

Vincent D'Onofrio is one of our most aggressively commanding actors, and he makes a good choice to impersonate Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman. All loping, shambly charm and occasional frenzied explosiveness, D'Onofrio's Hoffman is close enough to the real thing that, just like the Yippies themselves, he appears magnetic and forceful to the already converted, but a fraudulent, egomaniacal hambone to everyone else. (Even those unimpressed by D'Onofrio's indulgences can only admire the simmering commitment Janeane Garofalo brings to the role of his wife Anita.) Which is more than you can say for Robert Greenwald's unfocused hagiography, which should manage to pull off the rare feat of displeasing anyone no matter what their opinions of Hoffman. Racing through the years with the greatest-hits flippancy toward a life unfortunately all too familiar from movie bios (see Abbie try to levitate the Pentagon! Nominate a pig for President! Battle loneliness and depression while on the run from the cops!), Steal this Movie plays more like a lecture than a happening. Even the most obvious points are hammered home with the type of bone-headed didacticism that does more to grate on an audience than win it over. Lest we miss a thing, there are occasional voice-overs by a badly impersonated Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover to explain exactly what's going on. The film plays with all manner of actual footage and FBI surveillance photography, but the mix of styles is more chaos than anarchy; the boxy, amateurish camera work drains all possible giddiness from even the most rapturously absurd of Hoffman's pranks. Straining with clumsy urgency to capture the tenor of its subject, Steal This Movie gets the self-righteousness down but misses out on the passion, and the liberating spark of play. --Bruce Reid Amazon.com

Watch it & enjoy.

Seeing the 60's come alive once again makes you appreciate our history and the progress we have taken. I enjoyed "Steel This Movie" completely. All the performances were very good. Vincent D"Onofrio as "AH" was outstanding. July 27, 2008

Heartbreakingly Anachronistic

This movie, released in 2000, is so much a product of its time that it's heartbreaking to watch it now. Onscreen Vincent D'Onofrio, as Abbie Hoffman, talks about changing the perception of protesters from troublemakers, as the government had sought to portray them, to patriots and heroes bent on sacrificing their freedom and even their very lives to protect America from corrupt politicians. In the bonus features, the cast and crew and surviving real life characters talk about how much Abbie accomplished in turning America around, even saying at one point that "there could never be another Viet Nam."

Ah, the sweet folly of pre-9/11. Little did they know how little permanent change had really been accomplished. They could scarcely imagine how thoroughly their legacies would be sullied and how ascendant would be their enemies. The cast appears smug in their interviews, seen from the perspective of today, because they thought they had won the war.

But they didn't. September 8, 2007

pretty balanced: he admits to arrogance and buffoonery, but inspired change

This got me to re-think Abbie, whom I saw more as a provcateur than a politician of substance (in stark contrast to many of the activists in SDS, imho). What I remember most about him is Steal This Book, which is the perfect form of anarchy for affluent adolescents (us) in the suburbs (see the chapter "monkey warfare" for a guide to some of our misdeeds). I barely recalled that he was one of the Chicago 7.

He appeared far more self-aware in this film than I would have given him credit for, and it is clear that he actually did stand for some things, such as using the tools of the media to promote democracy and get out of Vietnam. In this fine film, you get to view his entire career, from the civil rights works he did, which I didn't know about, to his swan song as a local activist. It is a bit glib on his manic depression and its treatment, I found, but that also rounded out his portrait without creating an idol. The acting is genuinely excellent and the evocation of the time synches with my memory of the 60s: it was a great time to be an adolescent, I mean, what better thing to do than ditch high school as a protest? While much of it seems so callow today, it really is the last time America was interesting politically: as Abbie says, we stopped a war and had fun. Of course, the 1968 Chicago convention, which my parents took me to see, was a turning point in American politics, as the middle class were disgusted by the Dems, which added to the GOP's momentum as a result of civil rights alienating the South's democratic party. That is not really analysed in the film, but then, it is not intended as poli-sci I suppose.

Warmly recommended. It is a wonderful slice of history. July 2, 2007

Steal This Book; Woodstock Nation - It all comes to life!

It seems a long time ago ... the 60s do. I grew up then, protested the War then, and did quite a few things then that seem a bit silly to me now. Today, as we are wont to say, 9/11 has changed everything. This old "hippie," though I look more or less the same, is now undeniably, and proudly even, a conservative in most every way.

Watching this film made me realize that it wasn't really all that silly. I admired Abbie Hoffman then; I admire him still today. He is not today's "liberal." There was no agenda. It was all heart.

We miss you, Abbie. This wonderful time-capsule of a film made that all too clear. Left me with a tear in both eyes, and a lump in my throat. Vincent D'Onofrio is perfect!

Steal the book; now steal the movie! November 23, 2006

Very Good Film

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. August 4, 2006

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