Either you love Dustin Hoffman or you hate him. In any case there are films and especially characters, which allow an actor to show what he is capable of. In Midnight Cowboys an other famous actor, Jon Voight, actually the main character (Joe Buck), is outshone easily by the performance of Hoffman, playing Ratso, a crippled hobolike hustler of Italian descent, handicapped further by having somewhat of a strange speech disability (and incredibly bad teeth).
The story is not quite straight forward. Joe Buck, a brutally naive country boy from Texas, makes his was into the Big Apple. The plan is simple. Making an easy living by becoming a gigolo for mature rich women. It turns out, that despite his impressive appearance he is a rather insecure fellow, suffering from several childhood traumata, displayed to the viewer in flashback scenes. After getting conned two times, one time by Ratso, Joe runs out of money and finds himself in strange situations, including offering himself to cottagers. This happens also due to the fact, that Joe is not willing to except another job as a dishwasher. After running into Ratso once more, a strange relationship between the two men develops, resulting in them becoming best friends. The storyline takes an interesting turn when both of the men are attending a (Warhol) factory-like party.
Besides the Hoffman performance the flick shines through a classy camera work, putting some of the, not necessarily key scenes, into great effect. I remember the “hunting for women” sequence after Joes arrival in NYC quite vividly. The action taking place at the photographic laboratory ain’t bad either.
Year: 1969
Imdb Rating: 8,0/10 (September 2014)
Superflicks Rating: solid 9,1/10
memorable quotes:
– “The two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk.” (Ratso)
– “The only one thing i’ve ever been good for is lovin’ !” (Joe Buck)
