I agree with the above review. Not a bad movie, but very oddly paced and organized. The best part is an amazing opening shot. 1980 also included Ordinary People, Raging Bull, Coal Miners Daughter, Elephant Man, etc so it's odd that this one for both screenplay (Bo Goldman) and supporting actress (Mary Steenburgen), neither of which make any sense in retrospect. The screenplay is NOT good, nor is Steenburgen's silly performance. What's more odd is that she many awards from various organizations. A very inaccurate title, this has about 8 minutes of total Howard Hughes screen time, which is great Jason Robards. The rest is sometimes clever, always silly, and usually frustrating. Melvin Dummar is just not a movie unto himself. However, the Milkman song he sings to win the love of his future (and current) wife is great.
Review of Melvin and Howard
