Hoffman's bravura portrayal of the tortured, self-destructive, brilliantly inventive comic Lenny Bruce is enough of a reason to see this. The film uses material from Bruce's trials which are "performed" by Hoffman as part of his nightclub act.

At times moving, at others hilarious and ultimately very tragic, Lenny is, to put it simply, a beautiful film. This is now one of my favorite Dustin Hoffman performances and the black and white visual is simple stunning. This movie is criminally underseen.

Are there any niggers here tonight? One of the most insane stories imaginable.

There's a great little moment that is seemingly apropos of nothing where Hoffman soundlessly and happily runs down a hallway, jumps in the air, clicks his heels, struts and raps on a hotel door. Blink and you miss it. These little transient moments in Lenny are the ones I remember, whereas the meaty bits of the biopic are actually quite forgettable. To be honest, I'm not sure where that leaves the film in the end, so, um, I'll just give it a "65" and leave it at that.

Another great Hoffman role. I gotta go find some real Lenny Bruce clips now.

Dustin is great as trailbrazing stand up comic Lenny Bruce.

Hoffman is very good here, and the black and white photography is beautiful, but like most biopics this falls short of being a really good movie. Some nice directorial touches from Fosse.

The story is fairly generic, but Hoffman gives a powerhouse performance that keeps the viewer engaged.

Hoffman totally encompasses main man Lenny Bruce, both his on-stage presence and his off-stage battles. It's amazingly inspiring to see this man defend his rights to say "tits, ass, and cocksucker" until it took away absolutely everything away from him. If you don't think stand-up comedy is one of the purest forms of art, then you need to see this film.

Fosse's rhythmic directing, Bruce Surtees' rugged but aesthetic cinematography, Hoffman's performance, very good all around. I liked this movie, the character and the messages a little bit better than I ever liked Lenny Bruce's act, somehow.

Bob Fosse's Lenny Bruce biopic feels like the last film of the 60s: the editing and semi-documentary touches all evoke that era, and as a piece of filmmaking, it's arguably more visceral and memorable than Fosse's CABARET. The script is a bit less successful, in that we view Lenny mostly through other people's eyes--an interesting choice that nevertheless distances us from him. But Dustin Hoffman throws himself fully into the role, and Valerie Perrine is fantastic as his self-destructive wife.

An intriguing movie that has some of the most impressive use of sound editing I've ever seen/heard with Fosse masterfully weaving together stand-up monologues and interviews within the storyline. Hoffman is great as Lenny and Valerie Perrine does a good job as his wife. Well worth a watch.

This movie is all about Dustin Hoffman's performance as Lenny Bruce. The movie is really slow at times and takes too much time indulging itself in seemingly needless stuff. Also the detoriation of Bruce goes so fast that we barely get any character development whatsoever. I know it's based on real-life, but still I believe it could have been done better. If you're a fan of Hoffmann or Lenny Bruce, it's worth a watch, but it's not really really that great a movie compared to it's contemporaries.

First, I would submit this as exhibit E proving that Dustin Hoffman is one of the greatest living actors. Second, I would submit this as exhibit HH proving that a great actor can only elevate a film so much.

On the surface, just another warts-and-all biopic, but its made with such creative flair and acted with such passion that it becomes irresistable. Bruce's legacy speaks for itself of course, and yet the movie still manages to seem invaluable. Surtees' beautiful black and white cinematography and the films showbiz trappings echoes 8½, but whereas that film was about survival, love, life and art, Lenny is a film of decay, misery, death and art. Guess which one I prefer.

By today's standards it'd be a pretty average biopic. It's funny how formulaic all of these "geniuses" are in the way that they lived their lives. Dustin Hoffman was great, and really salvaged an otherwise boring movie. Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm not selling Lenny's influence short by any means.

Blending stand-up into real life Lenny is a neat idea, it speeds up the pace. Since Fosse is an auteur with a few masterpieces, I was expecting more out of it.

Good drama about an outrageous comedian. And of course I'm a sucker for modern movies made in black and white

Great film.

Hoffman gives an incredible performance in this explosive biopic about the infamous Lenny Bruce.

A semi-decent film propped up by Hoffman's amazing performance.

I do not know much about a life of Lenny Bruce, but the acting and all round formula how to make biography movie is here...

Excellent biography. Probably Dustin Hoffman's best. He really brings the character alive in front of you like no other.