Rain Man

Rain Man, motion picture about a self-centered sports car dealer who travels to the Midwest to take custody of his autistic brother in an ill-conceived attempt to wrestle money out of their large family estate after he is effectively cut out. Released in 1988, this Academy Award-winning film stars Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt and Dustin Hoffman as his older brother Raymond. Autistic Raymond fixates on tiny details and words, and he sometimes repeats words aloud, mantra-like. He also becomes very upset if certain routines are not followed. However, larger aspects of life, especially social interaction, are generally unimportant to him. Road travel is not easy with Raymond, but Charlie eventually finds affection for this rigid and sometimes unintentionally humorous personality. After Charlie discovers that Raymond’s fixations allow him to memorize and conceptualize gigantic mathematical sums, they stop at Las Vegas to play Blackjack on the way home.

Director

• Barry Levinson

Cast

• Dustin Hoffman (Raymond Babbitt)
• Tom Cruise (Charlie Babbitt)
• Valeria Golino (Susanna)
• Jerry Molden (Dr. Bruner)
• Jack Murdock (John Mooney)
• Michael D. Roberts (Vern)
• Ralph Seymour (Lenny)
• Lucinda Jenney (Iris)
• Bonnie Hunt (Sally Dibbs)

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Picture (1988): Mark Johnson—Producer
• Academy Award for Best Actor (1988): Dustin Hoffman
• Academy Award for Best Director (1988): Barry Levinson
• Academy Award for Best Writing—Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (1988): Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow
• Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear (1989)
• Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Picture (1988)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1988)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama (1988): Dustin Hoffman

Trivia

• The original screenplay for Rain Man called for a happy, friendly Raymond character; it was actor Hoffman’s idea to play him as a withdrawn autistic.

Quote

• Raymond (upset at being forced to wear a new brand of underwear): “I’m definitely not wearing my underwear.”