Rain Man (1988)
Review Date: April 18th, 2022
This is my 10th movie review now. More like…
10th Movie Review Special!
Anyways, Rain Man (1988) is considered to be as the greatest Autism movie of all time. It’s also a road drama as well. It stars Tom Cruise & Dustin Hoffman. The son of a rich man discovers that he has an older brother who has Autism. He finds out that his Autistic brother took the $3 Million estate. So they set out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance. So without further ado, let’s get down to the review.
CAST:
Tom Cruise - Charlie Babbitt
Dustin Hoffman - Raymond Babbitt
Valeria Golino - Susanna
Jerry Molen - Dr. Bruner
Ralph Seymour - Lenny
Michael D. Roberts - Vern
Bonnie Hunt - Sally Dibbs
Beth Grant - Mother at the Farm House
Lucinda Jenney - Iris
Barry Levinson - The Doctor (Also the Director of the movie)
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Charlie Babbitt is in the middle of importing 4 Lamborghinis to Los Angeles for resale. He needs to deliver the cars to buyers, who have already made down payments, in order to repay the loan he took out to buy them. But the EPA is holding the cars at the port, because they have failed emissions tests. Charlie commands an employee to lie to the buyers, while he stalls his creditor. But when he discovers that his estranged father named…
Sanford Babbitt
Had passed away recently, he & his girlfriend named Susanna travel to Cincinnati, in order to settle the estate. He only inherits 2 things…
1. A group of Rosebushes
2. A Classic 1949 Buick Roadmaster
But the $3 Million estate is going to an unnamed trustee. Shortly after, he finds out that the money is being directed to a nearby mental institution. There, he meets his older brother named Raymond Babbitt, of whom he was unaware of his entire life. Charlie Babbitt also learns that he has Autism Spectrum Disorder, & Savant Syndrome. Raymond Babbitt is DEFINITELY my favorite character in this movie though.
Shortly after, Charlie takes Raymond out of the institution, & into a hotel for 1 night only. Susanna becomes very upset with the way he treats Raymond, & she leaves him. The next morning, Charlie & Raymond have breakfast at a local restaurant, where they meet a waitress named Sally Dibbs. From the moment they see her, Raymond instantly knows her telephone number which is…
461-0192. Here’s the clip of the scene:
After the scene, there was the toothpick situation. Raymond desperately needs toothpicks to eat his food, while Charlie makes a phone call with Dr. Bruner for 50% of the estate in exchange for Raymond’s return to the institution. But Dr. Bruner refuses to do so. Then, Charlie decides to attempt to gain custody of Raymond, in order to get control of the money. Raymond on the other hand, accidentally spilled the box of toothpicks onto the floor, & counted all of the toothpicks in a matter of seconds. There were 246 Toothpicks that spilled onto the floor. But there was 4 left in the box, according to Sally Dibbs herself. I have to admit that Raymond’s a great mathematician though.
Shortly after, Charlie & Raymond get to the airport. But Raymond refuses to go on an airplane, because he thinks that airline travel’s very dangerous, & that there had been plane crashes. However, the only airline that Raymond likes is Qantas, because it’s the only airline that never crashed. But in reality, Qantas has only crashed a couple of times. But in extremely rare occurrences that did crash though.
Then, Charlie Babbitt goes on to say that all airlines had crashed at 1 time or another. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not safe to go on an airplane though. Still refusing to fly from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, Raymond has an outburst. But Charlie calms him down, & they decide to drive there instead. Back when I was a Senior in High School (12th Grade), I’ve been on an airplane. It was a part of my Senior Trip to Disney World in Florida. It was a 2.5 hour long flight from Albany, New York to Orlando, Florida.
However, their journey from Cincinnati to Los Angeles via car ride is very slow, because Raymond Babbitt insists on sticking to his routines such as…
1. Watching The People’s Court on TV everyday.
2. Getting to bed by 11:00 PM.
3. Refusing to go out while it rains outside.
4. Having lunch at 12:30 PM.
And many other routines as well. Raymond Babbitt seems to also have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), because he gets compulsive when things aren’t in order. My Dad also washes lots of laundry, & doesn’t tolerate dirty laundry though. 🧺🧽🧼
During the course of the journey, Charlie learns so much about Raymond, including his ability to perform very difficult calculations, & count more than a hundred number of objects at once, far beyond the average range of human accurate abilities. He also learns that Raymond used to live with the family years ago. During Raymond’s time with the family, there was the hot water situation that Charlie was part of, & their father sent Raymond to an institution, as he was unable to speak up for himself & correct the misunderstanding.
Sometime after, Charlie’s creditor repossesses the Lamborghinis, forcing him to refund his buyers’ down payments, & leaving him deeply in debt. Having passed Las Vegas, Charlie & Raymond return to Caesars Palace on the Strip, & devise a plan to win the needed money, by playing blackjack & counting cards. Even though he doesn’t understand the concept of money, Raymond does a very great job with counting cards though. After the game, Raymond meets Iris, & they plan to go on a date together. But Charlie teaches Raymond on how to slow dance. Shortly after, Susanna reconciles with Charlie, who has rejoined the brothers in Las Vegas.
Shortly after, Susanna takes Raymond to the date with Iris. But she doesn’t show up. So Raymond & Susanna slow dance in an elevator instead. At the end of their slow dance, Susanna teaches Raymond on how to kiss a woman, & they kiss. According to Raymond, he said that the kiss felt very wet. Raymond Babbitt’s 1st kiss was with Susanna. Unfortunately, I still haven’t had my 1st kiss yet though. But I probably will eventually though. For now, I have nothing to worry about me not having my 1st kiss yet though.
Meanwhile, the casino bosses obtain videotape evidence of the plan, & they ask them to leave. Charlie successfully wins $86,000 to cover his debts, & they leave the casino. Raymond Babbitt drives the car, & takes Susanna home with Charlie up in the front of the car. According to Raymond, he says that he’s an excellent driver.
As they return to Los Angeles, Charlie meets with Dr. Bruner who offers him $250,000 to stay away from Raymond. But he refuses, saying that he’s not upset about being cut out of his father’s will anymore. But he wants to have a relationship with Raymond.
During a meeting with a court-appointed psychiatrist, Raymond proves that he’s unable to decide for himself what he wants. But Charlie stops the questioning, & tells Raymond that he’s happy to have him as his older brother. As Raymond Babbitt & Dr. Bruner board a train from Los Angeles to the institution, Charlie promises to visit Raymond in 2 weeks, maintaining a successful brotherly relationship.
THE END
I have to admit that Rain Man (1988) is considered to be as the best Autism movie ever in my opinion though. I would recommend this movie to any Autistic individual out there. Trust me, it’s my favorite movie on Autism of all time. Even my mother said that she hasn’t watched the film in ages. I even have the poster for the movie in my room as well.
Overall: 10/10
End of Review